A federal judge ruled on Monday that a special master will be appointed to review the records of former President Donald Trump seized when the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home.
U.S. District Judge from the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen M. Cannon also order the Justice Department to pause its review of the materials as part of their investigation, FOX News reported.
Cannon said in the order that the special master will be appointed to "review the seized property, manage assertions of privilege and make recommendations thereon, and evaluate claims for return of property."
"The Court hereby authorizes the appointment of a special master to review the seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege," the judge ruled.
The FBI raided the home of the former president in August, taking over 20 boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago, including classified government records labeled “top secret.”
A “taint” or “filter team” from the DOJ had been reviewing the documents but Cannon said on Monday that he was ordering a temporary halt to the document review.
"Furthermore, in natural conjunction with that appointment, and consistent with the value and sequence of special master procedures, the Court also temporarily enjoins the government from reviewing and using the seized materials for investigative purposes pending completion of the special master’s review or further Court order,” Cannon said.
The order stated that it “shall not impede the classification review and/or intelligence assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”
In August, Trump’s lawyers asked Cannon for the appointment of a special master to review the document seized from Mar-a-Lago.
"We need to take a deep breath. These are presidential records in the hands of the 45th president at a place which was used frequently for work during his presidency," Trump attorney Christopher Kise said.