Donald Trump on Monday filed suit against the US government over the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home, seeking to temporarily stop the bureau reading seized materials until a special court official can be appointed to review documents concerned.
As the Guardian reported on Saturday, citing Trump’s lead attorney, Jim Trusty, and two sources familiar with the matter, “the suit argues that the court should appoint a special master – usually a retired lawyer or judge – because the FBI potentially seized privileged materials in its search and the Department of Justice (DoJ) should not itself decide what it can use in its investigation”.
The suit, filed in US district court for the southern district of Florida, also “requires the government to provide a more detailed receipt for property; and … requires the government to return any item seized that was not within the scope of the search warrant”.
The Mar-a-Lago search, on 8 August, was mounted to look for official records and material from Trump’s presidency that the National Archives and DoJ believe was improperly taken from the White House when Trump left office.
It has been reported that the search was carried out under the Espionage Act, and that some material sought concerned nuclear weapons.
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SOURCE: The Guardian, Martin Pengelly