Judge announces 'preliminary intent' to appoint special master to review Mar-a-Lago documents

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a two-page order on Saturday signaling her "preliminary intent" to grant former President Donald Trump's request that the court appoint a special master.

The special master, a third-party attorney, would be charged with examining the documents taken from Mar-a-Lago and determining whether any of them fall outside the scope of the search warrant that prompted the raid. Trump's legal team filed a court motion last week requesting that the court block the FBI from reviewing any of the classified materials obtained from Mar-a-Lago until a special master could review them.

"Pursuant to Rule 53(b) (1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the court's inherent authority, and without prejudice to the parties' objections, the court hereby provides notice of its preliminary intent to appoint a special master in this case," Cannon wrote.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Cannon also told the Justice Department to provide her with more information about the classified records taken from the former president's residence. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 1 at 1:00 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Florida.

On Saturday evening, Trump posted on Truth Social that a "Federal Judge in Florida" — Cannon — "just took over the Presidential Records Act case, including the unprecedented, unnecessary, and unannounced FBI/DOJ Raid (Break-In!) of my home." He did not mention her statements about his request for a special master.