Former US President Donald Trump has requested a judge to suspend a Justice Department probe into documents confiscated during an FBI raid of his house.
His legal team had filed a complaint asking for the appointment of an impartial counsel to supervise the collection of documents from Mar-a-Lago in Florida this month.
According to the FBI, 11 sets of secret documents were obtained from Mr. Trump’s residence on August 8th.
Ex-US president, Donald Trump is currently under probe for alleged mishandling of government files.
On Monday, Mr. Trump’s legal team submitted papers requesting the appointment of a special master, a neutral lawyer who will ascertain whether the documents are being protected by presidential immunities.
Usually, special masters are assigned in criminal trials if there are suspicions that certain information may be shielded by the attorney-client privilege or by other legal provisions that would prevent its admission into court.
‘It is unreasonable to allow the prosecutorial team to review them without meaningful safeguards,’ the 27-page document argues.
‘Short of returning the seized items… only a neutral review by a special master can protect the ‘great public interest’ in preserving ‘the confidentiality of conversations that take place in the president’s performance of his official duties.’
The legal documentation submitted to a Florida court reiterates many of Mr. Trump’s allegations that the FBI incursion was a politically biased attempt to thwart his prospective presidential aspirations in 2024 as well as the possibility of other Republican candidates for the November mid-term congressional elections.
Additionally, it claims that neither Mr. Trump nor his legal counsel are aware of the things that have been taken by the government and requests that agents provide a more thorough account of what was confiscated.
The lawsuit says the justice department ‘simply wanted the camel’s nose under the tent so they could rummage for either politically helpful documents or support efforts to thwart President Trump from running again’.
The lawsuit also alleges that Mr. Trump had dealings with agents prior to the FBI’s impromptu visit to his house. According to his attorneys, the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, which safeguards citizens against arbitrary search and seizure, was broken during the inspection.
