A criminal probe "requested by the incumbent president." The seizure of clothing, medical records, tax records and 500 pages of attorney-client privileged documents not covered by a warrant. The sharing of privileged documents with investigators.
More than simply appointing a special master to referee an evidence dispute, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon exposed this week a Justice Department search of former President Donald Trump's home that was initiated by his chief Democrat rival, that was carried out so sloppily that it violated the "least intrusive" mandate in the FBI agent's manual, and that failed to keep legally-protected materials from falling into the hands of investigators.
The problems uncovered so far placed Trump "at risk of suffering injury from the Government's retention and potential use of privileged materials," Cannon wrote, adding that a future indictment of the ex-president based on the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago "would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude."
