A US judge accepted the former US president’s request. The decision temporarily bars investigators from using documents seized from the Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach as part of a criminal investigation.
However, according to the federal magistrate’s decision, investigators can continue to review the documents “for purposes of classification and national security assessments.”
It represents a Republican victory and a major setback for the Justice Department, which has opposed appointing an independent third party, saying it could block investigators’ access to documents and seriously harm government interests, including national security. .
Victory for Trump
Appointed by Donald Trump in 2020, Judge Cannon writes in his decision that the appointment of the independent overseer will be made “without delay,” asking the parties to bring a list of potential names to a hearing scheduled for Friday.
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On August 8, the FBI raided Donald Trump’s home in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, and seized boxes of classified documents that the Republican had not returned after leaving the White House, despite multiple requests.
Since this spectacular and unprecedented police operation for a former US head of state, Donald Trump has lashed out against an act he deems “illegal and unconstitutional” and has again been targeted for political reasons.
“Top Secret” documents
In January, the former president’s teams turned over 15 boxes of documents he took when he left the White House to the National Archives.
After examining these boxes, the FBI decided to search Donald Trump for other classified documents in Florida under inappropriate circumstances. “They took documents that were protected” by client-attorney confidentiality, Donald Trump said.
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Lost documents
Of the documents seized during the police operation, 18 documents were classified as “Top Secret”, 53 as “Secret” and 31 as “Confidential”. Among them, documents were recovered from Donald Trump’s personal office.
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Authorities also found dozens of empty folders marked “classified” in the office, suggesting important documents may have been lost or destroyed.
Investigators suspect the Republican violated US espionage laws that strictly restrict the possession of classified documents. Donald Trump has assured that these documents are classified.
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