JUST IN: Lawyers for former President Trump ask judge to continue blocking the Justice Dept. from reviewing classified documents seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
, and the Justice Department argued that banning the executive branch from examining classified records that belong to the executive branch would cause “immediate and serious harms to the government and the public.”Cannon to stay part of her ruling with regard to the classified documents, meaning the government could move forward with acting on the classified records before a special master weighed in.
But Trump's lawyers said such a stay would"presuppose the outcome, at least as regards to what it deems are 'classified records'," and wrote there"is no indication any purported 'classified records' were disclosed to anyone." The filing also said that, under the Presidential Records Act, the former president"has an unfettered right of access to his Presidential records even though he may not 'own' them.
“As this Court correctly observed, a criminal investigation of this import — an investigation of a former President of the United States by the administration of his political rival — requires enhanced vigilance to ensure fairness, transparency, and maintenance of the public trust,” the filing signed by lawyer
read. “Given the significance of this investigation, the Court recognizes, as does President Trump, that it must be conducted in the public view.”