A federal judge in Florida — appointed by Donald Trump — said she may be inclined to agree to the former president’s request to have the FBI seize a mansion from his Mar-a-Lago home. A “special supervisor” review document.
Judge Erin Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said Saturday she agreed with Mr. Trump and his lawyers that an impartial third-party attorney should be involved in reviewing the documents. However, she added that her order “should not be construed as a final decision on plaintiff’s motion”.
She asked the government to present its arguments in the case by Tuesday and scheduled a court hearing in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Thursday.
On Friday, the Justice Department released a heavily redacted document explaining why the FBI raided the former president’s Florida home earlier this month. Trump and his lawyers called the search of his Mar-a-Lago home “politically motivated, excessive and shockingly aggressive.”
They also said the Justice Department and the FBI had long treated the former president “unfairly.”
Immediately after the redacted documents became public, the former president asked a neutral third party or “special host” to review documents seized from his Florida mansion during the FBI raid.
“The unedited lines raise more questions than answers,” said the former president’s lawyer.
The judge also ordered the Justice Department to submit and stamp a more detailed list of materials taken by the FBI. She also requested an update on the federal government’s review.
Legal experts believe Judge Cannon’s Saturday notice could be seen as a victory for the Trump campaign.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing and offered multiple explanations for the existence of classified documents at his home. “As we all know, everyone ends up having to take their jobs home every now and then. The president of the United States is no exception,” his camp said.
It continued: “President Trump often brings documents, including classified documents, to the residence in preparation for the next day’s work. He has a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and brought to the residence are at The moment he removed them, they were considered declassified.”
