DOJ appeals Trump FBI raid special master. Why it could lose.

DOJ appeals Trump FBI raid special master to review documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. Why the Justice Department could lose.

Unsurprisingly, the Department of Justice decided Thursday to appeal the appointment of a special master to review the documents the FBI seized from former President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago. Trump had scored a significant tactical victory when a U.S. district court judge agreed Monday to appoint the special master, preventing the further review and use of those documents in the government’s investigation until the special master’s review is complete. 

But while the Trump team might have welcomed its win Monday, it would be a mistake to see it as a sign that Trump will prevail against the Justice Department. In fact, the special master (an independent third-party designated by the court for a specific task) could hinder a central part of Trump’s defense, should the Justice Department lose its appeal.

While the Trump team might have welcomed its win Monday, it would be a mistake to see it as a sign that Trump will prevail against the Justice Department.

Trump is claiming that executive privilege prevents the Justice Department and the FBI from using these documents in investigating potential crimes committed in the records’ removal from Washington and their storage at Mar-a-Lago. This claim would be harder to sustain if the special master eventually determines that there are no documents subject to this privilege.

Many legal voices were quick to criticize the judge in this case, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, for granting Trump’s request. While other courts may well have decided the motion in favor of the Justice Department, and the appellate court still might, the district court had no precedent to rely on — so the judge attempted to ground her order in statutory analysis and case law. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/doj-appeal-trump-fbi-raid-special-master-lose-rcna46741

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