FBI completes initial review of documents seized in Trump raid: DoJ
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The US Department of Justice says the FBI has completed an initial review of the documents it seized in its raid on Donald Trump's Florida estate.
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Former US President Donald Trump
The FBI has concluded an initial review of the documents seized in the raid on former US President Donald Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, which took place on August 8, according to a court filing on Monday.
The court filing also revealed that the FBI set aside documents potentially covered by attorney-client privilege, which Trump had been claiming was violated.
"In accordance with the judicially authorized search warrant's provisions, the Privilege Review Team… identified a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information, completed its review of those materials, and is in the process of following the procedures set forth in… the search warrant affidavit to address potential privilege disputes, if any," it read.
The Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are undertaking a so-called classification review and a national security risk review of the documents retrieved from Trump's home.
Trump reportedly had more than 300 classified documents in his possession after leaving office, half of which the National Archives unsealed in January, alerting the DoJ to what eventually led to the FBI raid of his Florida estate.
The FBI took 11 boxes worth of papers, including data deemed to be so secret that they could not be stated individually in the "receipt" of what was taken.
A New York Times report revealed last week that the large amount of classified materials recovered by the government is what led to a federal criminal investigation into Trump.
In addition to the 150 documents recovered by the National Archives in January and the documents given to the DoJ in June by Trump aides, the documents recovered in the Mar-a-Lago raid raised a total of more than 300 classified documents recovered by Washington, the NYT said.
Trump and the National Archives have been at each other's throats since the former left office in 2021 after the agency found that he was in possession of White House documents that he should have turned over to the government upon the end of his term.
Trump announced that he was taking the US government to court over the FBI's raid and search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump aims to initiate this bid to stop the federal agency from delving into the material seized from him until a special court official can be appointed to review the documents in question.
The dramatic FBI raid on Donald Trump's palatial Florida residence has supercharged the bitter, polarizing political debate around the slew of judicial investigations facing the former President as he considers another White House run.
The raid led to Trump facing a criminal investigation over potential violations of the Espionage Act and additional statutes relating to obstruction of justice, as well as the destruction of federal government records, according to the search warrant executed by FBI agents at the former President's home.
The violation of the Espionage Act has a possible punishment of 10 years in federal prison, the statute for obstruction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, and the statute for the destruction of records carries a potential lifetime ban on holding public office.
The whole debacle with the Department of Justice deals a Trump mighty legal blow, which constitutes his latest, as he fights numerous other cases, including the January 6 Capitol riots, which could obstruct his path to a new presidency at the White House in 2024.
