Judge Approves Trump's Special Master Request for Mar-a-Lago Investigation
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A federal judge granted former President Donald Trump's request to appoint a "special master" to review materials that the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago last month.
The decision, issued by Trump-appointed District Judge Aileen Cannon, stops the Justice Department from "further review and use of any materials seized from" Mar-a-Lago "for criminal investigative purposes" until the special master's review process is complete.
Trump and his legal team pushed for the independent third-party to review the documents, and argued that the DOJ couldn't be trusted to fairly sort through the documents and identify privileged materials that would need to be excluded from the investigation. The DOJ says it already completed a similar review and filtered out a "limited" number of records potentially covered by attorney-client privilege. While siding with Trump's call for a special master, Cannon also said that "at least based on the record to date, there has not been a compelling showing of callous disregard for" Trump's constitutional rights.
The news was covered prominently by sources across the political spectrum. Right-rated sources tended to highlight Trump's reasoning for wanting the special master. Some left-rated sources focused on how Cannon cast doubt on the idea that Trump's constitutional rights were violated.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Judge halts prosecutors from using Trump Mar-a-Lago materials for criminal investigation
A judge placed a roadblock on federal prosecutors conducting a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's handling of documents until a special master is appointed and has completed his or her work.
"The Court does not find that a temporary special master review under the present circumstances would cause undue delay" to the investigation, said U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida, granting Trump's motion for a third-party review to look for privileged materials. She said the government is "temporarily enjoined from further review...
From the Center
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...
From the Left
Judge grants Trump's request for a 'special master' to review materials seized from Mar-a-Lago
A federal judge has granted former President Donald Trump's request to appoint a "special master" to review materials that the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago last month.
The decision, from Trump-appointed District Judge Aileen Cannon, is a significant victory for the former President, who has railed against the Biden administration and Justice Department since the search was executed four weeks ago.
"As a function of Plaintiff's former position as President of the United States, the stigma associated with the subject seizure is in a league of its own," Cannon wrote. "A future indictment, based...
AllSides Picks
May 19th, 2024
May 18th, 2024
More News about Justice from the Left, Center and Right
From the Left
From the Center
From the Right
