Is a Special Master Needed to Review Documents Seized from Mar-a-Lago?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A Florida judge showed willingness over the weekend to grant former President Donald Trump's request to have a "special master" review the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI. The Justice Department responded by saying it had already completed a similar review.
In a ruling issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said it was her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master in the case. Trump's legal team requested that a special master, which is typically a third-party attorney, review the seized documents and filter out any that were protected by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. On Monday, a DOJ court filing said the department's own "Privilege Review Team" had "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" detailed in the search warrant for handling potential privilege disputes.
The news was covered by sources across the political spectrum. Some reports from left-rated sources, such as Washington Post and USA TODAY (Lean Left bias), framed the DOJ's filing as evidence that Trump's special master request was unnecessary by suggesting that the DOJ's review may have served the same purpose. Some coverage from right-rated outlets painted the DOJ as biased against Trump; the Post Millennial wrote that the DOJ's filing "sets the stage for Merrick Garland's Justice Department to argue" that the special master's review is unneeded.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents already examined by FBI, Justice Dept. tells judge
FBI agents have already finished their examination of possibly privileged documents seized in an Aug. 8 search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, according to a Justice Department court filing Monday that could undercut the former president’s efforts to have a special master appointed to review the files.
The “filter team” used by the Justice Department to sort through the documents and weed out any material that should not be reviewed by criminal investigators has completed its review, the brief filed by Justice Department prosecutors says. The filing came in response...
From the Left
DOJ says only a "limited" number of Trump documents may be privilegedOnly a "limited set" of the documents seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home may be protected by attorney-client privilege, the Department of Justice said in a court filing Monday.
Driving the news: The filing comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Trump last week seeking the appointment of a special master to review the materials seized and prevent the FBI from examining the seized documents until the special master is in place.
A special master, usually a third party like a retired judge, would review the material and determine whether it...
From the Right
Biden admin says 'special master' not needed because FBI has already reviewed seized Mar-a-Lago docsThe 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...
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