WASHINGTON – Former US President Donald Trump’s legal team dismissed the government’s “unjustified” pursuit of classified documents at his home on Wednesday, saying the raid that resulted in their seizure was legally dubious and unnecessary.
Responding to a shocking filing in which the US Department of Justice stated that top secret documents were “likely concealed” at Trump’s estate in order to obstruct an FBI investigation, his attorneys insisted that his possession of sensitive information should have come as no surprise.
“The purported justification for the initiation of this criminal investigation was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained within the 15 boxes of presidential records,” Trump’s team stated in a court filing.
“However, given the nature of presidential records, this ‘discovery’ was to be fully anticipated.” Simply put, the idea that presidential records might contain sensitive information should never have been a source of concern,” it said.
Trump’s attorneys reiterated their demand for an independent review of all material seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate, calling the August 8 FBI raid “unprecedented, unnecessary, and legally unsupported.”
In a late Tuesday filing opposing the appointment of a “special master” to review the documents, the Department of Justice painted a starkly different picture, claiming that highly sensitive materials were recovered from Trump’s home.
Surprisingly, the department’s filing included a photograph of color-coded documents spread out over a carpet with the words “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” written on them.
Trump’s team also condemned the inclusion of the photograph.
“For dramatic effect, the government’s response gratuitously included a photograph of allegedly classified materials, pulled from a container and spread across the floor,” it said.
Source: AFP