Donald Trump: US Department of Justice is fighting for access to confiscated papers

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Donald Trump in the focus of investigators: National Archives misled?

Photo: ANDREW KELLY / REUTERS

In the case of the documents confiscated from ex-President Donald Trump, a neutral special representative was appointed who has until the end of November to examine the documents.

Until then, the Justice Department no longer has proper access to the documents - and is now taking action against it.

The ministry applied to an appeals court on Friday evening (local time) for permission to continue viewing the documents while the special counsel is reviewing them.

The government and the public would suffer irreparable harm if access to the documents were delayed, the motion said.

The decision hampered the investigation and the government's efforts to protect the security of the nation.

A judge appointed the neutral expert to examine the confiscated documents on Thursday.

Trump and his lawyers repeatedly criticize the actions of the judiciary as politically motivated.

Therefore they had demanded the appointment of the neutral examiner and filed a corresponding lawsuit.

This was approved.

First date

The examiner, the New York lawyer Raymond Dearie, has called a first meeting with Trump's lawyers and the Justice Department for next Tuesday.

In early August, the FBI searched Trump's Florida mansion.

The FBI confiscated various classified documents, some with the highest level of secrecy.

According to the law, this material should have been given to the National Archives.

Since Trump kept the records at his private estate after his term in office, he may have broken the law.

That is now being investigated.

The Justice Department had complained that the appointment of the special representative was delaying the investigation.

The appeal against Thursday's decision was expected.

The ministry now argues that further inspection of the documents by the authorities would not hinder the work of the neutral examiner.

"The court order paralyzes this investigation," the motion reads.

The ban must be lifted immediately so that the investigation can be resumed.

Trump apparently gave false information to the National Archives

Meanwhile, more and more details about the case surrounding the confiscated documents are becoming known.

The Washington Post reports that Trump's team is said to have misled the National Archives about the missing documents.

The national archive is said to have been informed in a conversation in September 2021 that the documents were only newspaper clippings, the newspaper writes, citing people who were not named.

A former Trump adviser is said to have referred to information from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the phone call with a lawyer from the National Archives.

According to the Washington Post, both Meadows and the former adviser declined to comment.

At the time, the National Archives contacted Trump and his team about missing documents.

ptz/dpa