The DOJ is combing through materials seized from Mar-a-Lago.
A special master was requested to protect the integrity of the documents.
Some of the boxes the FBI recovered from Mar-a-Lago contained top secret records.
Donald Trump urged a federal judge to stop the Justice Department from reviewing materials seized in the Mar-a-Lago raid, arguing in a new lawsuit that the court should appoint a so-called special master to protect the integrity of privileged documents.
In a court filing, Trump's lawyers demanded that the Justice Department provide a more detailed inventory of items the FBI removed from Mar-a-Lago during an August 8 search.
The FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago was described in Trump's lawsuit as "unprecedented and unnecessary" by his lawyers. The lawsuit stated that the search was politically-motivated and that Trump was the clear front-runner in the Republican Presidential Primary and the General Election should he run.
The administration of justice can't be impacted by politics.
According to the lawsuit, the Justice Department told Trump's lawyers that some of the records taken from the former president's Palm Beach estate were potentially privileged. The Justice Department was asked by Trump's legal team to stop reviewing records until a special master is hired.
"This step, which the Government itself has requested in cases involving the seizure of privileged and/or potentially privileged materials, is needed to preserve the sanctity of executive communications and other privileged materials," Trump's lawyers argued.
After the Mar-a-Lago search, Attorney General Garland announced that the Justice Department would ask a judge to unseal the search warrant. Garland pointed to Trump's public statements about the raid as the reason for the unusual move.
According to court records, the materials seized from Mar-a-Lago were related to possible violations of the Espionage Act.
In the lawsuit Monday, the Trump legal team described Garland's press conference as "deeply troubling" and asserted that it "suggests that the decision to raid Mar-a-Lago, a mere 90 days before the 2020 election, involved political calculations aimed at diminishing the leading voice in
The search warrant at Mar-a-Lago was approved by a federal court, according to Garland's top spokesman.
Anthony Coley said that the Justice Department was aware of the motion. The United States will respond to the court case.
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