The US Justice Department has moved to speed up its appeal of an order appointing a special master to review all of the records the FBI seized from former president Donald Trump's Florida estate.
In a court filing on Friday, the Justice Department said its inability to get access to the non-classified documents held at Mr Trump's estate was interfering with its investigation into the retention of government records at the Florida property that pertain to the classified records.
The Justice Department is asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to order all papers be filed in the case by November 11, and hold any necessary hearing in the case as soon as that briefing is completed.
Mr Trump's lawyers are opposing the request, the government said. They did not respond to a request for comment.
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A redacted FBI photograph of classified documents recovered from a container in former president Donald Trump's estate at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Reuters -
The FBI searched Mr Trump's home over what it said were 'likely' efforts to conceal classified files. AFP -
The Mar-a-Lago property was raided by agents on August 8. Reuters -
Pages from a Department of Justice court filing in response to a request from Mr Trump's legal team for a 'special master' to review the documents seized. AP -
Journalists read a heavily redacted court document relating to the FBI search. AP -
The former president condemned the raid as 'the weaponisation of the justice system'. AP -
Pages from a Department of Justice court filing, in response to a request from Mr Trump's legal team. AP -
Mr Trump had faced accusations of deleting private communications during investigations into his alleged role in the storming of the Capitol building on January 6 by his supporters. Reuters -
Mr Trump departs Trump Tower for a deposition two days after the FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago home. Reuters -
Pages of entirely redacted information in the released version of an affidavit from the US Justice Department that was submitted to a judge to support the execution of the FBI search warrant. Reuters -
Mr Trump was also accused of taking a trove of classified documents from the White House, leading to speculation that those missing documents could have been the focus of the raid. Reuters -
Mr Trump set up his Save America political action committee days after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. EPA -
A Trump supporter outside the Paul S Rogers Federal Building and US Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. AP -
Mr Trump reportedly had more than 300 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. AP -
US Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks about the FBI's search warrant. Reuters
The Justice Department said an expedited schedule may allow the government, if it wins the appeal, “to more quickly resume its full investigation without restraints on its review and use of evidence seized pursuant to a lawful search warrant”.
The government lawyers added that, if the Atlanta-based appeals court rules in the Justice Department's favour, it would end the litigation over materials seized in the search as well as the outside review of those documents.
That review, being conducted by special master Senior US District Judge Raymond Dearie, is set to end by December 16.
The appeals court last month sided with the Justice Department in lifting parts of the ruling from US District Judge Aileen Cannon that had prevented the department from relying on classified materials taken in the search as part of its investigation, such as bringing up the sensitive records' contents in witness interviews or presenting charges to a grand jury.
The court also blocked Judge Dearie from accessing the classified records as part of his proceedings.
Judge Cannon on September 5 granted Mr Trump’s request for a third-party review of the seized documents, over the objections of the Justice Department. That process has already been delayed, as Mr Trump and the government have not yet been able to secure a contract with an outside vendor to host the documents as part of the review.
On Thursday, she also rejected Judge Dearie’s instruction that Mr Trump verify the list of documents taken from the property, after the former president's lawyers argued that requirement was outside the scope of the special master’s authority.
Mr Trump has claimed without evidence that FBI agents planted evidence as they searched his resort on August 8, but his lawyers have not repeated those allegations in court.
