In a raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, the FBI secures dozens of documents. Trump defends himself against the confiscation by calling for an external examiner to inspect the confiscated papers. A judge approves the ex-president's request.
Former US President Donald Trump has achieved success in the investigation into his handling of secret government documents. A court in the US state of Florida granted his request to have the documents seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago property reviewed by a special agent - and to stop the authorities from reviewing the documents until then. Trump had insisted on the appointment of a neutral examiner, a so-called "Special Master". About two weeks ago, Trump filed a lawsuit in court.
In early August, the FBI searched Trump's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI confiscated several sets of documents, some of which were classified as top secret. Since Trump kept the records in 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.
Judge Aileen Cannon had already declared her intention to use a special representative last weekend. Cannon was appointed by Trump during his presidency from 2017 to 2021.
The US Department of Justice had announced that it did not consider the appointment of an external examiner to be necessary - also because the investigators had already completed the review of the documents. According to observers, the appointment of a special representative will slow the pace of the investigations, but will have no major impact on their outcome.
