FBI Completes Initial Review of Documents Seized in Raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago Residence

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The FBI has already completed its initial review of the documents it took from former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence during the raid on August 8 and has set aside those potentially covered by the attorney-client privilege, according to a court filing on Monday.

"In accordance with the judicially authorized search warrant's provisions, the Privilege Review Team… identified a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information, completed its review of those materials, and is in the process of following the procedures set forth in… the search warrant affidavit to address potential privilege disputes, if any," the filing said.

The Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are also undertaking a so-called classification review and a national security risk review of the documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago.

The FBI raided Trump’s residence for nine hours and took about two dozen boxes, including what it claimed were 11 sets of classified documents.

Trump has denied there were classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and said the raid was a continuation of the Democrats’ political witch hunt against him to prevent him from running for president in 2024.

The filing appears to pre-empt a court ruling on Saturday to hold a hearing this week on Trump’s request to appoint a "special master" to conduct an independent review of the seized documents for potential attorney-client privilege.