- Donald Trump’s legal team slammed the government’s “unjustified” pursuit of sensitive materials at his home.
- They said the raid was legally questionable and unwarranted.
- The Department of Justice painted an entirely different image, stating that sensitive materials were recovered from Trump’s house.
The legal team of former US president Donald Trump slammed the government’s “unjustified” pursuit of sensitive materials at his home on Wednesday, stating that the raid in which the documents were collected was legally questionable and unwarranted.
In response to a stunning lawsuit in which the US Department of Justice claimed that top secret documents were “likely concealed” at Trump’s home to thwart an FBI investigation, his attorneys contended that his possession of sensitive information should not have come as a shock.
“The purported justification for the initiation of this criminal probe was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained within the 15 boxes of presidential records,” Trump’s legal team stated in a court filing.
“But this ‘discovery’ was to be fully anticipated given the very nature of presidential records. Simply put, the notion that presidential records would contain sensitive information should have never been cause for alarm,” it said.
Trump’s attorneys reiterated their demand for an impartial review of all materials seized from his Mar-a-Lago resort and characterised the FBI raid on the facility on August 8 as “unprecedented, unnecessary, and legally unsupported.”
In its late Tuesday brief opposing the appointment of a “special master” to analyse the records, the Department of Justice painted an entirely different image, stating that extremely sensitive materials were recovered from Trump’s house.
The department’s submission includes a photograph showing color-coded documents marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” and spread out on a carpet.
The inclusion of the photograph was also criticised by Trump’s staff.
“The government’s response gratuitously included a photograph of allegedly classified materials, pulled from a container and spread across the floor for dramatic effect,” it stated.
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