Judge orders halt to DOJ review of documents seized from Trump

[Valin]

Politico

Cannon’s order included permitting a so-called special master to review the seized materials for potential attorney-client and executive privilege.

Kyle Cheney, Nicholas Wu and Andrew Desiderio

09/05/2022

A federal judge on Monday ordered a halt to the Justice Department’s review of materials seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, describing a threat to institutions and the risk of media leaks that could cause harm to Trump.

“Plaintiff faces an unquantifiable potential harm by way of improper disclosure of sensitive information to the public,” U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in a 24-page ruling issued on Labor Day.

Cannon’s order included permitting a so-called special master to review the seized materials for potential attorney-client and executive privilege. Prosecutors expressed exasperation at Trump’s demand to review for executive privilege, noting that there is no precedent for a former executive to assert privilege to bar review of materials by a sitting executive branch — particularly when the government has determined the need is urgent.

(Snip)

In her ruling, Cannon specifically wrote that the appointment of a special master “shall not impede” the intelligence community’s ongoing assessment of whether Trump’s possession of the top-secret documents caused harm to U.S. national security. That review, which began in response to inquiries from Congress, is being spearheaded by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

(Snip)

Cannon premised her ruling primarily on Trump’s claims of potential harm of the materials becoming public. She noted that a still-sealed report of items seized by a Justice Department “filter team” — tasked with screening out attorney-client-privileged material — said that “medical documents, correspondence related to taxes, and accounting information” were among them.

Cannon also described “leaks” to the media of information related to the seized materials as a potential risk to Trump, though she acknowledged being unsure of the provenance of those purported leaks.

She also repeatedly emphasized the extraordinary circumstance of the search of a former president’s residence

(Snip)

Among the logistical issues Cannon left unresolved Monday was the question of whether the government will have to shoulder the bill for the special master, whether Trump must do so or whether they will split the cost.

[Valin]

Sep 5, 2022 This is Alan Dershowitz's video podcast called The Dershow. We discuss politics, law, the constitution and current events.Alan Dershowitz's podcast. Dershow media

[Geee]

Judge's order exposes FBI sloppiness, excessive evidence collection at Trump home

A criminal probe "requested by the incumbent president." The seizure of clothing, medical records, tax records and 500 pages of attorney-client privileged documents not covered by a warrant. The sharing of privileged documents with investigators.

More than simply appointing a special master to referee an evidence dispute, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon exposed this week a Justice Department search of former President Donald Trump's home that was initiated by his chief Democrat rival, that was carried out so sloppily that it violated the "least intrusive" mandate in the FBI agent's manual, and that failed to keep legally-protected materials from falling into the hands of investigators.

The problems uncovered so far placed Trump "at risk of suffering injury from the Government's retention and potential use of privileged materials," Cannon wrote, adding that a future indictment of the ex-president based on the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago "would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude."

File

SpecialMasterOrder.pdf

In other words, Cannon was not convinced by the Justice Department's argument that its honor system — known as "filter" or "taint" teams — was adequate to protect the 45th president's constitutional rights. "The Court takes a different view on this record," she wrote.

Cannon's Labor Day ruling is simply an opening salvo. Whether Trump's claims of executive privilege, attorney-client privilege or an unconstitutional, overly broad search prevail will be decided some time in the future.

[Geee]

Five things to know about Aileen M. Cannon, the judge who granted Trump a special master

[Geee]

Special Master Order Reveals Biden’s Direct Involvement In Trump Raid And Six Other Bombshells

[Geee]

Former FBI boss warns prosecutor might see Trump search warrant tossed out entirely

Former FBI boss Kevin Brock says that a prosecutor may throw out the Trump search warrant entirely.

 

The FBI warrant to search former President Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago may be thrown out entirely in court, according to former FBI boss Kevin Brock. 

News broke over Labor Day weekend that Trump had been granted a legal win when a federal judge ordered a special master to review the documents seized from Trump's home. 

"I think the government would be concerned as well, because there's concern that the the search warrant itself was overly broad from the get-go," Kevin Brock said on "Just the News, Not Noise" Tuesday evening. "Because the scope that they were looking for was every single document generated during the Trump administration — that just seems too inexcusably overbroad. Now there's indications that they (the FBI) collected much more than they were authorized to collect."

Brock said that he believes that the search warrant could be suppressed entirely. 

[Geee]

Trump 'learned through court filings' FBI seized medical records, tax documents