FBI reviews records seized by Trump and identifies potentially privileged files
The FBI has already finished reviewing whether any of the materials seized from Donald Trump’s resort in Florida were privileged, the justice department said in a court filing on Monday that could undermine the former president’s request to have a special master filter the documents.
The justice department said FBI agents not involved in the investigation surrounding Trump’s retention of government secrets at Mar-a-Lago have completed a review of the documents and identified a number of files that may be privileged and set aside from the evidence cache.
“The Privilege Review Team 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 … to address potential privilege disputes, if any,” the filing said.
The disclosure from the justice department, which came in response to a ruling on Saturday from a federal judge to hold a hearing this week about whether to appoint a special master, undercuts Trump’s request because the government has already finished what a special master would have done.
Trump’s legal team is expected to continue with its effort to have a special master sort through the seized materials to ensure the FBI does not hold on to potentially privileged documents, arguing the justice department should not itself decide what it can use in its investigation.
The motion is significant because it gives Trump’s lawyers an opportunity to contest the seizure of certain documents and communications that they argue cannot be used by the justice department as it mounts an investigation into possible Espionage Act violations and obstruction of justice.
But the justice department’s note in the filing that they had already finished going through the seized materials could serve to undercut Trump’s motion. Judge Aileen Cannon, overseeing the case, could decide there is no longer a point in a special master in light of the development.
The department also said a “classification review” of the documents Trump took is being conducted by the FBI and the director of national intelligence. The search warrant affidavit revealed the intelligence community feared their presence at Mar-a-Lago could compromise human clandestine sources.