Trump’s new filing Wednesday is his platform to formally respond to prosecutors’ allegations that members of his legal team engaged in “disgusting behavior” by hiding documents at his Florida resort and giving investigators untruths about how many classified documents remained in space. The Justice Department had said in court filings that the investigation came after the FBI developed evidence that Trump’s team had withheld materials after claiming all classified materials had been turned over in June. “The purported justification for initiating this criminal investigation was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained in the 15 boxes of presidential records,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “But this ‘discovery’ should have been fully expected given the very nature of presidential records. Simply put, the idea that presidential records would contain sensitive information should never have been cause for alarm.” Trump’s lawyers argue that under the Presidential Records Act, the Archives should have pursued a good-faith effort to secure the recovery of the presidential records, rather than referring a criminal investigation to the Justice Department. The court battles involve a civil lawsuit Trump filed earlier this month as part of his bid to appoint a “special master” to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. Federal prosecutors oppose that request, say it would interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation and the community’s review of intelligence about potential national security risks, and want the lawsuit dismissed.
Hearing on Thursday for the special master
Trump filed the lawsuit early last week — 14 days after the search warrant was executed — claiming his constitutional rights were violated during the search. He demanded that a special master be appointed to review the materials seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. A special master is a third-party attorney appointed by courts in certain cases — often those where law firms have been investigated — to review evidence obtained by the government and filter out privileged material that should be kept out of the public eye. hands of the investigators.
After Trump’s original lawsuit was deemed to lack several key legal elements, the judge assigned to the case — Trump appointee Judge Ellen Cannon — asked his lawyers to fill it out with additional information last Friday. On Saturday, she said in an order that she was willing to appoint the special master but would first review court filings responding to the request and hear arguments on it Thursday.
The Justice Department argued in Tuesday’s filing that appointing a special master would be both “unnecessary” and a move that would impede criminal investigations and risk assessments conducted by the intelligence community. Prosecutors argued that Trump failed to cross the procedural thresholds required to make the request.
The Justice Department said Trump’s scenario — one that focused primarily on disputed claims of executive privilege — was very different from situations where special masters were typically appointed. In these cases, the materials covered by the attorney-client privilege are the primary concern.
Prosecutors previously told the court that “a limited body of material” potentially covered by attorney-client privilege was recovered during the investigation. The Justice Department’s internal filter team has already completed its work separating those materials from those shared with investigators, the department said Tuesday, and the remaining documents have already been reviewed by agents working on the case.
This story has been updated with additional details.
title: “Trump Tells Court Classified Material Should Have Been Expected In Presidential Files Found At Mar A Lago Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-29” author: “George Gridley”
Trump’s new filing Wednesday is his platform to formally respond to prosecutors’ allegations that members of his legal team engaged in “disgusting behavior” by hiding documents at his Florida resort and giving investigators untruths about how many classified documents remained in space. The Justice Department had said in court filings that the investigation came after the FBI developed evidence that Trump’s team had withheld materials after claiming all classified materials had been turned over in June. “The purported justification for initiating this criminal investigation was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained in the 15 boxes of presidential records,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “But this ‘discovery’ should have been fully expected given the very nature of presidential records. Simply put, the idea that presidential records would contain sensitive information should never have been cause for alarm.” Trump’s lawyers argue that under the Presidential Records Act, the Archives should have pursued a good-faith effort to secure the recovery of the presidential records, rather than referring a criminal investigation to the Justice Department. The court battles involve a civil lawsuit Trump filed earlier this month as part of his bid to appoint a “special master” to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. Federal prosecutors oppose that request, say it would interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation and the community’s review of intelligence about potential national security risks, and want the lawsuit dismissed.
Hearing on Thursday for the special master
Trump filed the lawsuit early last week — 14 days after the search warrant was executed — claiming his constitutional rights were violated during the search. He demanded that a special master be appointed to review the materials seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. A special master is a third-party attorney appointed by courts in certain cases — often those where law firms have been investigated — to review evidence obtained by the government and filter out privileged material that should be kept out of the public eye. hands of the investigators.
After Trump’s original lawsuit was deemed to lack several key legal elements, the judge assigned to the case — Trump appointee Judge Ellen Cannon — asked his lawyers to fill it out with additional information last Friday. On Saturday, she said in an order that she was willing to appoint the special master but would first review court filings responding to the request and hear arguments on it Thursday.
The Justice Department argued in Tuesday’s filing that appointing a special master would be both “unnecessary” and a move that would impede criminal investigations and risk assessments conducted by the intelligence community. Prosecutors argued that Trump failed to cross the procedural thresholds required to make the request.
The Justice Department said Trump’s scenario — one that focused primarily on disputed claims of executive privilege — was very different from situations where special masters were typically appointed. In these cases, the materials covered by the attorney-client privilege are the primary concern.
Prosecutors previously told the court that “a limited body of material” potentially covered by attorney-client privilege was recovered during the investigation. The Justice Department’s internal filter team has already completed its work separating those materials from those shared with investigators, the department said Tuesday, and the remaining documents have already been reviewed by agents working on the case.
This story has been updated with additional details.
title: “Trump Tells Court Classified Material Should Have Been Expected In Presidential Files Found At Mar A Lago Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-18” author: “Casey Staples”
Trump’s new filing Wednesday is his platform to formally respond to prosecutors’ allegations that members of his legal team engaged in “disgusting behavior” by hiding documents at his Florida resort and giving investigators untruths about how many classified documents remained in space. The Justice Department had said in court filings that the investigation came after the FBI developed evidence that Trump’s team had withheld materials after claiming all classified materials had been turned over in June. “The purported justification for initiating this criminal investigation was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained in the 15 boxes of presidential records,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “But this ‘discovery’ should have been fully expected given the very nature of presidential records. Simply put, the idea that presidential records would contain sensitive information should never have been cause for alarm.” Trump’s lawyers argue that under the Presidential Records Act, the Archives should have pursued a good-faith effort to secure the recovery of the presidential records, rather than referring a criminal investigation to the Justice Department. The court battles involve a civil lawsuit Trump filed earlier this month as part of his bid to appoint a “special master” to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. Federal prosecutors oppose that request, say it would interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation and the community’s review of intelligence about potential national security risks, and want the lawsuit dismissed.
Hearing on Thursday for the special master
Trump filed the lawsuit early last week — 14 days after the search warrant was executed — claiming his constitutional rights were violated during the search. He demanded that a special master be appointed to review the materials seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. A special master is a third-party attorney appointed by courts in certain cases — often those where law firms have been investigated — to review evidence obtained by the government and filter out privileged material that should be kept out of the public eye. hands of the investigators.
After Trump’s original lawsuit was deemed to lack several key legal elements, the judge assigned to the case — Trump appointee Judge Ellen Cannon — asked his lawyers to fill it out with additional information last Friday. On Saturday, she said in an order that she was willing to appoint the special master but would first review court filings responding to the request and hear arguments on it Thursday.
The Justice Department argued in Tuesday’s filing that appointing a special master would be both “unnecessary” and a move that would impede criminal investigations and risk assessments conducted by the intelligence community. Prosecutors argued that Trump failed to cross the procedural thresholds required to make the request.
The Justice Department said Trump’s scenario — one that focused primarily on disputed claims of executive privilege — was very different from situations where special masters were typically appointed. In these cases, the materials covered by the attorney-client privilege are the primary concern.
Prosecutors previously told the court that “a limited body of material” potentially covered by attorney-client privilege was recovered during the investigation. The Justice Department’s internal filter team has already completed its work separating those materials from those shared with investigators, the department said Tuesday, and the remaining documents have already been reviewed by agents working on the case.
This story has been updated with additional details.
title: “Trump Tells Court Classified Material Should Have Been Expected In Presidential Files Found At Mar A Lago Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Rochelle Uttech”
Trump’s new filing Wednesday is his platform to formally respond to prosecutors’ allegations that members of his legal team engaged in “disgusting behavior” by hiding documents at his Florida resort and giving investigators untruths about how many classified documents remained in space. The Justice Department had said in court filings that the investigation came after the FBI developed evidence that Trump’s team had withheld materials after claiming all classified materials had been turned over in June. “The purported justification for initiating this criminal investigation was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained in the 15 boxes of presidential records,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “But this ‘discovery’ should have been fully expected given the very nature of presidential records. Simply put, the idea that presidential records would contain sensitive information should never have been cause for alarm.” Trump’s lawyers argue that under the Presidential Records Act, the Archives should have pursued a good-faith effort to secure the recovery of the presidential records, rather than referring a criminal investigation to the Justice Department. The court battles involve a civil lawsuit Trump filed earlier this month as part of his bid to appoint a “special master” to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. Federal prosecutors oppose that request, say it would interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation and the community’s review of intelligence about potential national security risks, and want the lawsuit dismissed.
Hearing on Thursday for the special master
Trump filed the lawsuit early last week — 14 days after the search warrant was executed — claiming his constitutional rights were violated during the search. He demanded that a special master be appointed to review the materials seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago. A special master is a third-party attorney appointed by courts in certain cases — often those where law firms have been investigated — to review evidence obtained by the government and filter out privileged material that should be kept out of the public eye. hands of the investigators.
After Trump’s original lawsuit was deemed to lack several key legal elements, the judge assigned to the case — Trump appointee Judge Ellen Cannon — asked his lawyers to fill it out with additional information last Friday. On Saturday, she said in an order that she was willing to appoint the special master but would first review court filings responding to the request and hear arguments on it Thursday.
The Justice Department argued in Tuesday’s filing that appointing a special master would be both “unnecessary” and a move that would impede criminal investigations and risk assessments conducted by the intelligence community. Prosecutors argued that Trump failed to cross the procedural thresholds required to make the request.
The Justice Department said Trump’s scenario — one that focused primarily on disputed claims of executive privilege — was very different from situations where special masters were typically appointed. In these cases, the materials covered by the attorney-client privilege are the primary concern.
Prosecutors previously told the court that “a limited body of material” potentially covered by attorney-client privilege was recovered during the investigation. The Justice Department’s internal filter team has already completed its work separating those materials from those shared with investigators, the department said Tuesday, and the remaining documents have already been reviewed by agents working on the case.
This story has been updated with additional details.
