Trump's home search unearths material possibly covered by
attorney-client privilege, prosecutors say
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[August 30, 2022]
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice
Department's search of former President Donald Trump's home this month
turned up a "limited" number of documents potentially subject to
attorney-client privilege, federal prosecutors said in a court filing on
Monday.
The new disclosure by the Justice Department could bolster a request by
Trump's legal team to appoint a special master to conduct a privilege
review of the items the FBI seized from Trump's Florida estate during
its unprecedented Aug. 8 search.
At the same time, however, the department also revealed that its filter
team has already completed its review of the materials - a sign that
Trump's request for a special master could be too late.
A special master is an independent third-party sometimes appointed by a
court in sensitive cases to review materials potentially covered by
attorney-client privilege to ensure investigators do not improperly view
them.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida
over the weekend issued an order saying she was inclined to appoint a
special master.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/30/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
She ordered the Justice Department to respond to Trump's request, and
also to provide under seal a more detailed list of the items seized from
Trump's home.
On Monday, the Justice Department said it will comply with the request
and file the information under seal by Tuesday.
In the department's filing, prosecutors said the filter team was
following procedures it set forth in the warrant for addressing any
materials that may be covered by attorney-client privilege, which
includes showing them to the court for a determination.
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![](../images/083022PIX/news_r95.jpg)
An aerial view of former U.S. President
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents
searched it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 15, 2022.
REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/30/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png)
The department along with Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (ODNI) are currently conducting a classification review
of the materials seized, it said, adding that ODNI is separately
spearheading an "intelligence community assessment of the potential
risk to national security" that could arise if they were ever
exposed.
The search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, which was
ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland, marked a significant
escalation of one of several federal and state investigations Trump
is facing involving his time in office and in private business.
The department is investigating Trump for the unlawful retention of
national defense information, a violation of the Espionage Act, and
it is also investigating whether he tried to obstruct the criminal
probe.
In an unusual move last week, the Justice Department unsealed a
redacted copy of the legal document that outlined the evidence it
used to convince Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart to authorize a
search warrant.
It revealed that Trump had retained records pertaining to the
country's most closely-guarded secrets, including those involving
intelligence-gathering and clandestine human sources.
The U.S. National Archives first discovered Trump had retained
classified materials in January, after he returned 15 boxes of
presidential records he had kept at Mar-a-Lago.
After the FBI searched his home this month, it carted away
additional material, including 11 more sets of classified records.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill
Berkrot)
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