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A federal judge has appointed a veteran New York jurist to serve as an independent arbiter who will review records seized during an FBI search of former US president Donald Trump's Florida home last month.
Key points:
- Donald Trump is being investigated for keeping classified material from his time as US president at his Florida resort
- A judge granted his legal team's request for an independent special master to review documents seized by the FBI
- The man appointed is a former federal prosecutor and chief judge
In her order, US District Judge Aileen Cannon refused a request by the Justice Department to lift her temporary prohibition on its use of about 100 classified records taken on August 8.
She also granted the newly named special master, Raymond Dearie, access to the tranche of seized documents.
The department previously said the arbiter should not be allowed to inspect the batch of classified records.
It is expected to contest the judge's order to a federal appeals court and had given Judge Cannon until Thursday to put her order barring the continued review of classified records on hold.
It also said it would ask the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to intervene if she did not by then.
A department spokesman did not return a request for comment.
Mr Dearie is a former federal prosecutor and served as the chief judge of the federal court in Brooklyn.
His appointment came after both the Justice Department and Mr Trump's lawyers made clear they would be satisfied with his appointment as a special master.
In this role, Mr Dearie will be responsible for reviewing the documents seized during the search of Mar-a-Lago and selecting those potentially covered by claims of privilege.
The special master process has already delayed the investigation, with Judge Cannon directing the department to temporarily pause key aspects of its probe.
It is not clear how long Mr Dearie's review will take.
The department is investigating the hoarding of top-secret materials and other classified documents at the Florida property after Mr Trump left office.
The FBI said it recovered more than 11,000 documents from the home during its search, including about 100 with classification markings.
Appointment of special master a win for Trump
Last month, Mr Trump's lawyers asked for a judge to name a special master to independently review of the records and find those with claims of executive privilege or attorney-client privilege.
The department argued the appointment was unnecessary and it had completed its own review.
It also argued Mr Trump had no right to raise executive privilege claims that usually allowed a president to withhold certain information from the public and congress.
But Judge Cannon disagreed and directed both sides to name potential candidates for the role.
It was a legal win for Mr Trump and hit pause on the department's use of the records while a special master found those which fell under attorney-client or executive privilege.
She also ordered the department to halt its review of the documents for investigative purposes until "further court order" or until the special master completed their review.
Mr Trump's team recommended either Mr Dearie or a Florida lawyer for the job.
The department said it would also be satisfied with the appointment of Mr Dearie.
Mr Dearie served as the top federal prosecutor for the eastern district of New York from 1982 to 1986, before being appointed to the federal bench by president Ronald Reagan.
He also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
He took senior status in 2011, but the department said he remained active and indicated to officials that he was available for the position and could work expeditiously if appointed.
AP