US judge blocks review of seized papers from Trump's estate

A judge on Thursday refused to let the US Justice Department (DOJ) immediately resume analysis of classified records which last month were seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate.

"The court does not find it appropriate to accept the government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion," Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump during his tenure as president, wrote Thursday.

Veteran judge appointed arbiter in Trump Mar-a-Lago probe

At the same time, Cannon has appointed Senior District Judge Raymond Dearie — a veteran
New York jurist — as a third party to review the records seized by the FBI for materials that could be privileged and kept from federal investigators.

As the so-called special master, Dearie will determine if any of them are protected by executive privilege.

Cannon, who has given Dearie until November 30 to complete the work, last week granted the Trump team's request for a special master over the objections of the DOJ.

The department had also attempted to prevent the independent arbiter, Dearie, from vetting the classified documents gathered in the court-approved search that took place at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8.

The DOJ claim top-secret documents were "likely concealed" to hamper an FBI investigation into his potential mishandling of classified materials.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying the seizure of the papers was "one of the most egregious assaults on democracy in the history of our country."

jsi/wd (AP, Reuters)