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Some records seized at Mar-a-Lago may be protected by client-attorney privilege
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Mandel Ngan
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AFP via Getty Images
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A team has completed a review of the material seized at Mar-a-Lago, finding that some of the materials may contain information protected by attorney-client privilege, the Department of Justice said in a court filing on Monday.
As requested by a federal judge over the weekend, the team will file a public response to former President Trump's motion for the appointment of a "special master" to oversee the material seized from his residence.
The team "is in the process of following the procedures ... to address potential privilege disputes, if any," the department said in its filing Monday. In tandem with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the DOJ is continuing to sort through and classify the record, the filing continued. And, echoing what the agency's spokesperson told NPR on Saturday, the ODNI is continuing to assess how the release of these materials could jeopardize national security.
The development comes after a federal judge said Saturday that she is inclined to grant Trump's request to appoint a special master to oversee the FBI's search of more than a dozen boxes seized from Mar-a-Lago, and told the Justice Department to produce "a more detailed" list of items seized from Mar-a-Lago.
Lawyers for the government and Trump are due in court Thursday to discuss his request for a special master to review the papers.
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