- Former President Donald Trump’s legal team will face the Justice Department in federal court on Thursday.
- Prosecutors revealed in their filing that Trump’s records custodian, whom they did not name.
- After the FBI discovered evidence of possible obstruction, the department decided to seek court approval for a search warrant.
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team will face the Justice Department in federal court on Thursday in an attempt to persuade a judge to appoint a special master to review the materials seized by the FBI from Trump’s Florida estate.
The hearing comes less than two days after prosecutors released new information about their ongoing criminal investigation into whether Trump improperly retained government records and attempted to obstruct the government’s investigation by concealing some of them from the FBI.
In a late Wednesday filing, Trump’s attorneys downplayed the government’s concerns about the discovery of classified material inside his home, accusing the Justice Department of escalating the situation despite the fact that he handed over boxes of documents to the National Archives and allowed FBI agents to “come to his home and provide security advice” in June.
“Simply put, the notion that Presidential records would contain sensitive information should have never been cause for alarm,” his lawyers wrote
A special master is an independent third party who is sometimes appointed by a court in sensitive cases to review materials that may be subject to attorney-client privilege in order to ensure that investigators do not improperly view them.
On Thursday, Trump’s newest lawyer, former Florida Solicitor General Christopher Kise, added his name to the case, possibly indicating that he will be handling arguments before the court.
Trump’s attorneys claimed in their initial request to the court that the former president wanted to protect materials that were protected by a legal doctrine known as executive privilege, which can shield some presidential communications.
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After many legal experts criticised the argument as illogical, Trump’s legal team narrowed its request by asking for a privilege review without explicitly mentioning executive privilege.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department echoed those sentiments.
Prosecutors told the court on Tuesday that Trump “has no property interest in any presidential records (including classified records) seized from the premises,” noting that a former president cannot assert the executive privilege against the executive branch itself.
Prosecutors also stated that the department’s filter team, a group of non-investigating agents, had already reviewed the materials and determined that only a limited number may be protected by the attorney-client privilege.
The hearing will be presided over by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee in the Southern District of Florida.
She previously stated that she was leaning toward appointing a special master, but that could change after the Justice Department presented its evidence and arguments late Tuesday.
Prosecutors revealed in their filing that Trump’s records custodian, whom they did not name, falsely certified that a thorough search had taken place and that all government records had been returned to the government.
The certification was made on June 3, when three FBI agents and a top Justice Department official went to Mar-a-Lago to retrieve all remaining records after a grand jury subpoena was issued.
Prosecutors said Trump’s lawyers never claimed he had declassified any of the materials during that visit, and they handed over 38 pages marked as classified inside a double-taped envelope.
However, his attorney also prohibited government investigators from opening or looking inside some of the boxes that Trump kept in one of his storage rooms, according to the report.
After the FBI discovered evidence of possible obstruction, the department decided to seek court approval for a search warrant.
“The government developed evidence that a search limited to the storage room would not have uncovered all the classified documents at the premises,” prosecutors said.
“The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation.”
On August 8, the FBI raided Trump’s home and recovered more than 33 boxes and other items, including more than 100 classified pages.
Prosecutors said on Tuesday that some of the items are so sensitive that certain FBI and department personnel needed additional clearances before they could review them.
They also revealed that during their search, FBI agents discovered some classified documents in Trump’s desk drawers, mixed in with his passports.
“The location of the passports is relevant evidence in an investigation of unauthorized retention and mishandling of national defense information,” the department said.
Although the Justice Department’s filing on Tuesday provided the most detail about its investigation to date, it also filed other records under seal at Cannon’s request, including a more detailed list of property seized from Trump’s home.
On Wednesday, media outlets asked the judge to unseal those records as well.
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