DOJ 'taint team' examining Trump Mar-a-Lago documents
Redacted Trump affidavit to be released: New details | LiveNOW from FOX
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday ordered some of the documents connected to the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to be unsealed. Reinhart has reportedly given the government one week to submit proposed redactions under seal by noon on August 25th.
A Department of Justice "taint" or "filter" team has been reviewing documents seized by the FBI during its raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, Fox News has learned.
A senior law enforcement official familiar with the process told Fox News that the review began soon after the search warrant was executed on Aug. 8.
The official said that it is standard procedure for the Justice Department to use a "taint" or "filter" team to go through documents obtained during a search — in part to identify records that may be protected by attorney-client privilege.
TRUMP FILES MOTION SEEKING INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF DOCS SEIZED DURING FBI RAID ON MAR-A-LAGO
Fox News first reported last week that FBI agents seized boxes containing records covered by attorney-client privilege and potentially executive privilege during the raid.
Sources familiar with the investigation have told Fox News that the former president’s team was informed that boxes labeled A-14, A-26, A-43, A-13, A-33, as well as a set of documents — all seen on the final page of the FBI’s property receipt — contained information covered by attorney-client privilege.
Trump affidavit: Judge orders partial unsealing of documents related to Mar-a-Lago FBI raid | LiveNOW from FOX
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said the affidavit related to the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate should not be completely sealed, Fox News has learned. Reinhardt has ordered other documents related to the FBI raid to be unsealed today, including the application for the warrant, the motion to seal, and the cover sheet. On the affidavit, the judge found that the entire affidavit should not be sealed. Reinhart has reportedly given the government one week to submit proposed redactions under seal by noon on August 25th. Judge Reinhart will review those redactions and then decide how he wants to proceed, if he wants to make his own redactions instead. He reminded all that if the government or media object to his redactions, which will also be under seal, they can appeal his ruling.
Attorney-client privilege refers to a legal privilege that keeps communications between an attorney and their client confidential. It is unclear, at this point, if the records include communications between the former president and his private attorneys, White House counsel during the Trump administration, or a combination.
Sources told Fox News that some records could be covered by executive privilege, which gives the president and other officials within the executive branch the authority to withhold certain sensitive forms of advice and consultation between the president and senior advisers.
The Justice Department’s use of a "taint" or "filter" team, while standard procedure, could complicate Trump’s legal team’s efforts for the appointment of an independent special master to examine the seized records, as it is likely they have already been inspected by DOJ officials.
Trump's lawyers, in a motion to request the appointment of a special master Monday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, stressed that a "filter team" "will not protect President Trump's rights."
According to the motion filed Monday, Trump and his legal team are seeking an order to appoint a special master to review the records obtained during the search; blocks the further review of seized materials by the government until a special master is appointed; requires the Justice Department to provide a more detailed receipt for property; and requires the government to return any item seized that was not within the scope of the search warrant.
Trump says Mar-a-Lago estate 'under siege' by FBI | LiveNOW from FOX
Former President Trump on Monday said that his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida is "under siege" by a "large group" of FBI agents conducting a search warrant. "Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate," Trump said. "It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don't want me to run for President in 2024, especially based on recent polls, and who will likewise do anything to stop Republicans and Conservatives in the upcoming Midterm Elections." "Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries. Sadly, America has now become one of those Countries, corrupt at a level not seen before," Trump said, alleging that the FBI agents broke into his safe. "What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee?" he said. "Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States." A source familiar told Fox News that the raid occurred early this morning. The source said agents brought a "safe cracker" and cracked a "relatively new" safe in Mar-a-Lago. The source told Fox News there was "nothing in it." Multiple sources tell Fox News the FBI's raid of Mar-a-Lago is related to the materials Trump allegedly brought to his private residence after his presidency concluded. That matter was referred to the Justice Department by the National Archives and Records Administration, which said it found classified material in 15 boxes at the residence.
"For the foregoing reasons, President Donald J. Trump respectfully requests that this Court issue an order that: appoints a Special Master; enjoins further review of seized materials by the Government until a Special Master is appointed; requires the Government to provide a more detailed Receipt for Property; and requires the Government to return any item seized that was not within the scope of the Search Warrant," the motion states.
The motion also states that the government "has long treated President Donald J. Trump unfairly."
"The FBI and DOJ have demonstrated a willingness to treat President Trump differently than any other citizen," the motion reads, citing the two years of the "noisy" Trump-Russia investigations and more.
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Trump and his legal team stressed that "politics cannot be allowed to impact the administration of justice," saying the decision to raid the former president's private residence just months before the 2022 midterm elections "involved political calculations aimed at diminishing the leading voice in the Republican Party, President Trump."
Judge Bruce Reinhart earlier on Monday admitted that the FBI's raid on Mar-a-Lago home was "unprecedented" and formally rejected the Justice Department's argument to keep the affidavit leading to the search under seal, citing the "intense public and historical interest."
Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report. Read more of this story on FOX News.