Trump Legal Team Says Mar-a-Lago Probe has 'Spiraled Out of Control'

Former President Donald Trump's legal team on Monday asked a judge to continue blocking the Justice Department from reviewing classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago in August, despite a challenge to the block filed by the DOJ late last week.

In a court filing, Trump's lawyers called the Justice Department's investigation "unprecedented and misguided" and "a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control." They also said that "there still remains a disagreement as to the classification status of the documents" seized from Mar-a-Lago, and that the government "has not proven these records remain classified." Trump's lawyers didn't explicitly say that the documents had been declassified; Trump has said repeatedly that they were.

Last week, the DOJ said it would appeal a ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon for the appointment of a neutral special master and would seek a "partial stay" regarding her order blocking the government from its review of seized records with classified markings. Cannon is expected to receive and consider suggestions Monday from each side on who to appoint as special master to review the documents.

The Trump team's response to the DOJ's legal challenge was covered prominently by news sources across the political spectrum Monday.