Trump team denies DOJ claims of obstruction

Former US President Donald Trump's legal team tried to downplay the discovery of top secret documents at his Florida home and counter claims of obstruction on Wednesday.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a court filing a day earlier that the documents were "likely concealed" to obstruct an FBI probe into Trump's possible mishandling of classified materials.

Trump's lawyers tried to counter this by telling a judge that presidential records by their very nature are sensitive.

A court filing by Trump's team said "…this 'discovery' was to be fully anticipated given the very nature of presidential records. Simply put, the notion that presidential records would contain sensitive information should have never been cause for alarm."

The DOJ filing also included a photograph of color-coded documents marked "SECRET" and "TOP SECRET" spread out over a carpet.

The 54-page document summarized the evidence the DOJ obtained that Trump may have tried to obstruct its investigation by willfully trying to conceal documents.

The Justice Department has asserted that the FBI uncovered evidence that classified documents remained at Mar-a-Lago. During their search, the investigators found materials so sensitive that "even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents," the DOJ filing said.

DOJ claims Trump's legal team was dishonest

During an FBI visit to Mar-a-Lago, along with a top Justice Department official, in June, Trump's representatives falsely certified they had conducted a thorough search, prosecutors said.

The investigators were barred from opening or looking inside some of the boxes in one of the storage rooms, they said.

The DOJ sought a court approval for a search warrant after the FBI presented evidence of possible obstruction.

"The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the storage room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation," prosecutors said.

Among more than the 100 pages marked "classified," the FBI found some in Trump's desk drawers, along with his passports.

Trump team asks for independent review

Trump's legal team has asked for a special master —­ an independent third party appointed by a court in sensitive cases to review materials.

"Left unchecked, the DOJ will impugn, leak, and publicize selective aspects of their investigation," Trump's lawyers said.

They said the former president wants to protect some presidential communications under executive privilege.

The Justice Department, as well as outside legal experts, have refuted the claim. They said Trump cannot assert the privilege against the executive branch itself in the way Trump is attempting to do.

A federal court in West Palm Beach will decide if appointment of a special master to review the materials seized by the FBI from Trump's property on August 8 is necessary.

Trump has denounced the DOJ's latest move on his Truth Social network, saying, "Terrible the way the FBI, during the Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw documents haphazardly all over the floor (perhaps pretending it was me that did it!), and then started taking pictures of them for the public to see."

ss/wd (AFP, Reuters)