On Monday, a federal judge intervened in an investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of sensitive government files, ordering an independent arbitrator to be appointed to review a trove of assets. material seized last month from Trump’s private club and residence in Florida.
The judge, Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, also temporarily barred the Justice Department from using seized materials for any “investigative purposes” in connection with the investigation. Their investigation of Mr. Trump until the work of the arbitrator, known as a special master, was completed.
This order will prevent, at least for now, federal prosecutors from using key pieces of evidence as they continue to investigate whether the former president illegally kept defense documents at his residence. his mansion, Mar-a-Lago, or thwart the government’s efforts to retrieve them or not. It also seems to have special respect for Mr. Trump as a former president, rejecting repeated assertions by the Justice Department that it will pursue investigations into Mr. any other person.
Indeed, in her order, issued on Labor Day, Judge Cannon said she took her decision “to ensure at least fairness and integrity in these cases.” abnormal.” However, her order will not affect a separate review of documents by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence seeking to determine what national security risk their relocation to Mar-a- Lago can cause.
Justice Department officials last week discussed the possibility of an appeal if the judge ruled in Mr Trump’s favor, but department spokesman Anthony Coley declined on Monday when asked if he would pay back. words like.
“The United States is reviewing the comments and will consider appropriate next steps in the ongoing litigation,” he said.
Any appeal to Judge Cannon’s ruling will be heard by a panel of three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Of its 11 active judges, six are appointed by Trump.
Judge Cannon’s ruling granted extensive special authority to review nearly 11,000 documents transferred from Mar-a-Lago by the FBI on Aug. they are highly classified. It allows anyone appointed to review documents not only for those covered by attorney-client privilege, a relatively common measure, but also for those who are able to do so. functions protected by executive privilege, often protecting the secret discussions of the internal executive branch.
In a hearing last week Regarding the question, the Justice Department argued that allowing a special expert to conduct a review of executive privilege over seized material would be “unprecedented” and legally baseless. because the department itself is part of the current executive branch and Mr. Trump is no longer in office.
More about the Trump Documents Inquiry
There is no role for a particular master in executive privilege, said Julie Edelstein, an attorney for the department.
But Judge Cannon, Trump’s appointee, clearly disagreed with the Justice Department, writing in the order that she was “not convinced” of the government’s explicit assertion that executive privilege does not apply. In this context. She added that she thought the department’s stance was “supposedly exaggerating the law” and that the removal of any documents could be shielded by executive privilege because of the legal issues in the case. reasonable arrangement.
“Even if any claim of executive privilege by the plaintiff is ultimately unsuccessful in this context, that possibility, even if it is likely, does not negate the possibility of a former president in raising privileges as an initial issue,” she wrote.
At her order, Judge Cannon avoided concern that Mr Trump could suffer “reputation damage” from a search that was not conducted properly – or, as she added, from “an indictment” in the future” even partly based on “the property should be returned.”
She noted that the investigation into Mr. Trump should be conducted with special care and respect, placing him in its own category.
Judge Cannon wrote: “As a function of plaintiff’s position as president of the United States,” the stigma associated with subject’s arrest is an alliance of its own. She also noted that, because of the Mar-a-Lago raid, Mr Trump faced “potentially unforeseen harm by improperly disclosing sensitive information to the public”.
Such statements come in the wake of the Justice Department’s repeated assertion that when it comes to investigating Mr. Trump, it will follow facts and the law, just as it does when investigating any other person.
While her ruling barred the Justice Department from using the archive of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago in its investigation of Mr. Trump, it does not appear to prohibit prosecutors from using other means to follow it. On Friday, in a court filing released with Detailed inventory of items retrieved during the searchprosecutors said the document investigation remains an “active criminal investigation” that could include “further investigative steps” – among them, “additional witness interviews and jury practice.”
However, the ruling will require many time-consuming steps, which will almost certainly slow down the investigation. First, Judge Cannon will need to appoint someone to do the work of a particular employer. That person would then have to conduct a review of a large amount of documents and decide which documents are protected by attorney-client or executive privilege.
Judge Cannon ordered the Justice Department and Mr. Trump’s attorneys to send her on Friday a list of potential candidates for the special master’s position and a recommendation about the powers that the position has. will hold.
Even then, there could be further legal action. Mr. Trump’s attorneys have said they want to identify the privileged items, in part, as a premise to filing a broad legal challenge to Fourth Amendment searches, which protect against unjustified searches and seizures.
In the ruling, Judge Cannon offered several new details about the search. For example, she noted that among government files seized by the FBI, agents found a number of Trump’s “medical documents, tax correspondence, and accounting information.” The Mar-a-Lago search warrant allows the FBI to remove any box containing government documents even if items of a more personal nature are discovered among them.
Judge Cannon noted that, in fact, Mr. Trump’s personal items were identified and kept separate by a so-called filter group of federal agents separated from the team investigating Mr. Trump. However, in her order, she cast doubt on the filter group’s work, saying, without giving specifics, that in two cases the documents should have been identified as special. The ultimate power rests with the prosecutors.
Judge Cannon also said that the sheer amount of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago justifies the naming of a special owner, adding that she alone is not equipped to read more than 10,000. document pages to determine what is part of a government investigation. and what not to do.
“Considering the volume of documents seized and the parties expressing a desire for a expeditious resolution of this matter,” Judge Cannon wrote, “a particular expert would be better suited than this court to conduct a review. “
Glenn Thrush contribution report.
