WASHINGTON, Sep 16 (Reuters) – A US judge refused Thursday to allow the Justice Department to examine documents – many of them classified – seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida home during an August search.
Federal Judge Aileen Cannon also appointed District Judge Raymond Dearie to decide on the confidentiality of the documents seized by the FBI and whether they can be turned over to federal investigators.
The Justice Department had indicated its intention to appeal the decision if Judge Cannon rejected their motion. He had also tried to prevent Raymond Dearie from examining the approximately 100 confidential documents included in the 11,000 files collected during the search.
“The court considers that accepting the government’s conclusions on these important and controversial issues without a neutral third party to conduct further review would be inappropriate,” wrote Aileen Cannon.
Neither a Justice Department spokesperson nor Donald Trump’s attorneys immediately responded to a request for comment.
Aileen Cannon said she would instruct Raymond Dearie to review confidential documents as a matter of priority, adding that she had requested that her review be completed by November 30.
The search of Donald Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago by the FBI was part of an investigation into documents that the former US president allegedly brought with him illegally out of the White House at the time of the end of his term. , in January 2021.
(Report Sarah N. Lynch and Jacqueline Thomsen; French version Camille Raynaud)
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