The new date is Sep 5, 2022.
A federal judge in Florida ordered an independent "special master" to review the documents obtained by the Justice Department which will likely slow down the investigation into Trump's actions.
The Mar-a-Lago resort is owned by former President Donald Trump.
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, ordered a special master to review the White House documents and temporarily blocked the DOJ from reviewing them until the special master's work is complete
Two weeks after federal officials conducted a search of Mar-A-Lago, Trump asked the judge to appoint a special master who would review the documents and not DOJ officials.
It was argued by the DOJ that appointing a special master would be unnecessary and harmful to the interests of the government.
Cannon ruled that the fact that some of Trump's personal property was also seized along with White House documents justified a review even if many documents belong to the government.
The judge disagreed with the DOJ's argument that Trump's challenge was too late because it had already reviewed the documents and was able to add more to the case.
Cannon had previously said in a court filing it was her "preliminary intent" to grant a special master in the case, but that was before the DOJ told the court it had already reviewed all the documents and identified materials covered by attorney-client privilege.
It may not be possible for Trump to prevail on his claims of executive privilege. Cannon wrote that the inquiry would remain for another day. The circumstances surrounding the seizure in this case and the need for adequate procedural safeguards are compelling enough to get the person past the courthouse doors.
In a court filing on Tuesday, the DOJ argued that the appointment of a special master would impede the criminal investigation. The government argued that the court didn't have the power to hear the case and that Trump's attempt to shield documents from the executive branch wasn't valid.
The court-appointed special master will be tasked with going through the documents the DOJ seized and identifying whether they are protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege, despite the DOJ's protestations that shouldn't apply. Since investigators will not be allowed to review the documents further until the special master's search is complete, the investigation will be slowed down. The DOJ is expected to appeal Cannon's ruling and try to get a higher court to stop the request for a special master.
Will he be charged with a crime? The Espionage Act, which carries potential prison sentences or fines if convicted, is one of the federal statutes that the DOJ is investigating. According to a number of legal experts, they believe Trump will be indicted as part of the investigation and the DOJ has said in legal filings it has "developed evidence" that Trump probably took effort to obstruct the government's investigation. Federal prosecutors are unlikely to take any major actions until after the November elections as the agency's investigation is still ongoing. According to a report by One America News, one of Trump's attorneys, Christina Bobb, signed sworn legal documents stating that there was no classified material at Mar-A-Lago in June.
The FBI searched Mar-A-Lago on August 9 as part of its investigation into the White House. The search was conducted after the Trump team voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of materials in January and a grand jury subpoena yielded another envelope of documents, but federal investigators eventually seized a further 33 boxes of materials, including over 100 classified documents, in its August search that the Trump team did not reveal were According to the DOJ, classified documents were being held at Mar-A-Lago despite the estate not being authorized to house classified documents, and that despite ordering Trump and his team to store all documents in a secured storage area, materials were found throughout Mar-A-Lago. The request for a special master by the ex-president marked the first formal action in court against the investigation.
The DOJ filing alleges that Trump and his team concealed classified documents.
Trump demanded a special master to include a photo of top secret documents.
Trump asked the judge to appoint a special master to review the records.
A judge is considering limiting DOJ access to Trump documents.
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