The US Justice Department asked a federal judge on Thursday to stay parts of her recent order authorizing the appointment of a special monitor for the materials. seized by the FBI at the Florida residence of former President Donald Trump.
Because the judge’s order also includes that federal prosecutors cannot review the classified documents until the special monitor completes his work, the Justice Department argues that would disrupt an ongoing FBI investigation into the handling of the documents by Trump and will appeal the decision if he does not receive the suspension before next Thursday.
“Without a stay, the government and the public would be irreparably harmed,” prosecutors wrote.
With a partial suspension, the special supervisor or a third party could see unclassified documents seized by the FBI, including Trump’s personal records and information protected under attorney-client privilege, justice officials said.
In the August 8 search at Mar-a-Lago, FBI agents removed some 11,0000 documents and other records, including more than 100 classified and some even “top secret.”
Blocking prosecutors from accessing those classified documents would also prevent a classified review and national security assessment of the documents, the attorneys said in the petition.
They added that uncertainty about the scope of Judge Aileen Cannon’s order has forced the intelligence services to “pause” their assessment,
In addition to being a security agency, the FBI is part of the US intelligence community.
Under the Presidential Records Act, Trump was required to turn over all documents related to his presidency to the National Archives at the end of his term.
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