Judge approves Trump special master request

A federal judge has granted the request from former President Donald Trump’s legal team to appoint a special master to review the handling of classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 8.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon came despite the objections of the Justice Department, which said an outside legal expert was not necessary in part because officials had already completed their review of potentially privileged documents.

With Monday’s approval, the Trump legal team has scored at least one victory in its defense against the Justice Department, although it may prove to be inconsequential in the end.

The appointment appears likely to slow the pace of the department’s investigation into the presence of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago, particularly given the judge’s directive that the Justice Department may not for the moment use any of the seized materials as part of its investigation into the storage of government secrets at the Florida property.