Controversy over confiscated files
Trump’s lawyers attack Justice Department
09/12/2022, 10:19 p.m
Donald Trump’s legal team is still playing for time when evaluating the secret documents confiscated by the FBI. While the US Department of Justice is pushing for a quick review, the lawyers are accusing the agency of criminalizing the ex-president.
Former US President Donald Trump wants to prevent the authorities from being able to quickly view government documents confiscated by the FBI. “At its core, this is a dispute over document retention that has spiraled out of control,” said a letter filed by Trump’s attorneys with the court. The US government is “wrongly” trying to criminalize the retention of “presidential and personal records.”
The background to the Trump lawyers’ letter is legal action by the US Department of Justice against a court decision. This means, among other things, that the documents seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate should be reviewed by a special representative and that the authorities should stop viewing the documents until then. The Justice Department challenged that decision in part to avoid delaying the investigation. The US District Judge, whose verdict is now in question, was installed by Trump.
Trump’s lawyers are responding to the Justice Department’s request to withdraw the controversial verdict. The statement from Trump attorneys said the US government is trying to limit and anticipate a review of its investigative conduct, at least with respect to “what it considers ‘classified information’.” There was also no indication that alleged classified information had been passed on to third parties.
Any other classified information missing?
In early August, the FBI searched Trump’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI confiscated several sets of documents classified as top secret. Since Trump kept the records at his private estate after his term in office, he may have broken the law. This is now being investigated. Trump and his lawyers criticize the authorities’ actions as politically motivated. They had insisted on the appointment of a neutral examiner and filed a corresponding lawsuit.
The US Department of Justice said on Thursday that Trump may not have returned all of the secret files. This is another potential risk.