A federal judge notified the parties in a “preliminary ruling” on Saturday of her “preliminary intent to appoint a special master” in response to a motion submitted by former President Donald Trump on Monday. Her decision is not yet final, and she has requested that additional procedures be done before she makes a final determination regarding the appointment of a special master.
In her decision, Judge Aileen Cannon instructed the government to answer to Trump’s motion by August 30, along with a “more specific” description of the property “seized pursuant to the search” from Trump’s Florida residence by the FBI.
Cannon requested a “specific” summary of “the status of the Department of Justice’s review of the seized property, including any filter review undertaken by the privilege review team and any dissemination of materials beyond the privilege review team.”
She has also requested both parties’ stances on the “responsibilities and duties” of a special master. The selection of the special master would be a logistical difficulty. In this instance, the individual would require a top security clearance, as at least part of the Mar-a-Lago search materials include records with classifications ranging from confidential to “top secret.”
The court stated that the preliminary order “should not be regarded as a final determination” about Trump’s application and set a September 1 hearing.
Trump’s motion characterized the search warrant as “overbroad” and stated that investigators gathered “presumptively privileged” papers written during his tenure in office, stating that “it is inappropriate to permit the prosecuting team to analyze them without sufficient safeguards.”
Trump also urged the court to prevent the Justice Department from analyzing the evidence seized during the search of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, but the judge did not include this in her interim decision.