Trump Files Formal Response to DoJ's Filing Over Ongoing Mar-a-Lago Investigation

On Tuesday, the Justice Department said in a court filing US government documents were "likely concealed and removed" from storage at Mar-a-Lago in an effort to "obstruct" the FBI's inquiry into the alleged improper handling of classified information by ex-President Donald Trump. It also opposed Trump's request for the case's third-party review.

Former US President Donald Trump's legal team on Wednesday filed its official response to the Department of Justice's filing, responding to the latter's claims that Trump in fact did not declassify the documents he allegedly stored at his Florida home.

After the DOJ objected to the request, citing "national security interests," Trump's legal team responded by accusing the government of distorting the terms of his request for a "special master" to analyze the material.

"Now, the Government twists the framework of responding to a motion for a Special Master into an all-encompassing challenge to any judicial consideration, presently or in the future, of any aspect of its unprecedented behavior in this investigation," the filing said. "Its argument against oversight begins with a contention that somehow the Movant lacks standing to object to a search of his home."

More to that, the lawyers indicated that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) "simply ignored" the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and opened a criminal investigation just weeks after Trump "voluntarily complied" with a request for presidential records and turned over 15 boxes of information, as the DOJ noted earlier.

"The purported justification for the initiation of this criminal probe was the alleged discovery of sensitive information contained within the 15 boxes of Presidential records,' the legal team stressed. "But this “discovery” was to be fully anticipated given the very nature of Presidential records."

According to the filing, it should never have been a concern that presidential records would include sensitive material.

"Rather, as contemplated under the PRA, NARA should have simply followed up with Movant in a good faith effort to secure the recovery of the Presidential records," it suggested.

Trump claimed earlier on Wednesday that he had "declassified" the records before leaving office, a claim the DOJ refuted in its petition.

According to the filing, "an extraordinary document" the Justice Department submitted to the court proposed that the DOJ alone "should be entrusted with the responsibility of evaluating its unjustified pursuit of criminalizing a former President’s possession of personal and Presidential records in a secure setting."

Moreover, there "is no question and, indeed there is broad agreement, that the matters before this Court center around the possession, by a President, of his own Presidential records," according to Trump's attorneys.

A hearing has been scheduled on Thursday by the Florida judge overseeing the case. Over the weekend, the judge hinted that she might be willing to approve Trump's request for a special master.

New Lawyer Not on Board of Team's Filing

Notably, Chris Kise, a former Florida solicitor general, who reportedly signed a contract to represent Trump in the criminal case, did not appear on the filing.

According to reports, he was chosen to represent Trump in the Southern District of Florida after several criminal defense lawyers declined the case. NBC News, in turn, reported that Kise started working with Trump soon after the FBI searched his Florida home earlier this month.

A number of defense attorneys reportedly declined invitations to represent the former president, with some noting the demanding nature of the work and others being concerned about the political fallout. As Trump's legal representative, Kise is anticipated to make his first court appearance on Thursday in West Palm Beach.