Judge Aileen Cannon has come to the rescue of former president Donald Trump again.
Cannon ruled that Trump’s lawyers don’t need to provide evidence to back claims that the FBI lied about the classified documents found in his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The decision reverses a ruling by the special master Raymond Dearie, who ordered last week that Trump’s legal team submit a list of any specific inaccuracies in the inventory of items seized by the federal agents.
Trump’s lawyers claim that the classified documents found in the former president’s house in August were planted by the FBI or declassified before Trump leaves the White House.
According to Cannon, presenting proof to back these claims is not necessary before Trump’s attorneys have a chance to review the files.
“There shall be no separate requirement on Plaintiff at this stage, prior to the review of any of the Seized Materials, to lodge ex ante final objections to the accuracy of Defendant’s Inventory, its descriptions, or its content,” the judge wrote.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, is overseeing the case in which the former president challenges the Justice Department over the findings in his house in Florida. On Thursday, she also extended the deadline for the review of the documents from Nov. 30 to Dec. 16.
The Justice Department will likely appeal her decision. Her previous decision to block the department from reviewing classified information found at Mar-a-Lago was overruled by an appeals court.
