WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday heard a debate about whether to suspend an independent arbitrator’s review of documents seized during the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. ing.
Department of Justice Asked The Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the appointment of a so-called special master unnecessarily delayed an investigation into the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and called for the review process to be terminated. trump lawyer I want you to continue the work of a special master. The two sides will discuss the matter in the Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
It wasn’t clear when the court would make its decision, but a Justice Department victory could speed up the investigation by giving prosecutors access to the documents they need to do their jobs.
A special master, a veteran Brooklyn judge named Raymond Deary, took office in September At the request of the Trump team. He was tasked with conducting independent inspections of approximately 13,000 documents. Seized in August 8 search and excludes from criminal investigations anything that may be covered by claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
The Florida judge who appointed him, Eileen Cannon, had blocked federal prosecutors from using the seized records as part of the Deary investigation.Later her panel of three judges in the Court of Appeals Department of Justice restored access to nearly 100 documents with classification marksbut prosecutors still want unfettered access to a much larger pile of unclassified records and are urging the court to end the process once and for all.
Although the investigation has focused on possible mishandling of classified records, the DOJ believes unclassified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago are also relevant to the investigation. Because personal records were mixed with classified documents, prosecutors say they can provide evidence of possession or possession.
In court documents, the Justice Department said the only purpose it could have used the unclassified documents so far was to participate in a “long-running dispute” with the Trump team over their classification. rice field.
A special master process is being deployed alongside ongoing criminal investigations into possible document retention and obstruction.
Attorney General Merrick Garland last week Veteran prosecutor Jack Smith has been appointed as special counsel to oversee key aspects of the Mar-a-Lago investigation and another investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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