Biden admin says 'special master' not needed because FBI has already reviewed seized Mar-a-Lago docs

The Justice Department responded Monday to a federal judge's order to hold a hearing this week in order to determine if she will appoint a special master to independently review the documents the FBI took from former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8.

According to the Washington Post, the Justice Department prosecutors said they already appointed an FBI "filter team" that "identified a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information, completed its review of those materials, and is in the process of following the procedures."

The Justice Department's court filings state they have reviewed all the boxes and identified some protected under attorney-client privilege. The move sets the stage for Merrick Garland's Justice Department to argue that a special master, an independent investigator, does not need to also review the materials as their work is enough to "handle any privilege disputes."

Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in the Southern District of Florida on Monday asking that a special master be appointed to determine what materials from the Mar-a-Lago raid can be used against him in the investigation.