Mar-a-Lago Special Master Case Moves to Court of Appeals | WGN Radio 720
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.
The Justice Department has asked the Atlanta-based Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to end the review process, arguing that the appointment of a so-called special master unnecessarily delayed an investigation into the presence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. said. Trump’s lawyers hope the special master’s work continues.
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 veteran Brooklyn judge named Raymond Deary was appointed in September at the Trump team’s request. He was tasked with conducting inspections and excluding from criminal investigations those that could be subject to 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. Although we have provided access to about 100 classified-marked documents, prosecutors still want unfettered access to a much larger pile of unclassified records and want to end the process once and for all. He said he was asking the court. .
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 appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the investigation into Mar-a-Lago and a key part of another investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Supervised the sides.
____
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP.
https://wgnradio.com/news/political-news/ap-mar-a-lago-special-master-case-goes-before-appeals-court/ Mar-a-Lago Special Master Case Moves to Court of Appeals | WGN Radio 720