Former US President Donald Trump seeks to prevent the FBI from reviewing documents seized from his home in Florida two weeks ago, as he asked the US judiciary to appoint an independent expert to examine the documents to determine whether some of them can be kept secret. Hence not used in investigations.
Trump also asked - in a memorandum submitted to a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida - from the US Department of Justice to give him a more detailed receipt identifying the items that the FBI confiscated from his home in Mar-a-Lago during a search he made on August 8.
And he said - in a statement - that the raid on his home, which is a precedent in the history of former American presidents, "was illegal and unconstitutional, and we will do everything we can to recover the documents."
Trump asked investigators to return any items outside the scope of the search warrant.
"Politics cannot be allowed to influence the administration of justice," the request said.
He added that "law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans, and it cannot be used as a weapon to achieve political ends."
Sometimes, a special expert on highly sensitive cases can be assigned to review confiscated materials and ensure that investigators do not review private information.
In his statement, Trump confirmed that investigators "taken documents that are protected" under the principle of confidentiality that protects correspondence between the client and his attorney.
The FBI raid on Trump's house is a precedent in the history of former US presidents (Reuters)
According to a list of assets seized by the FBI from Trump's home, several documents are classified as "top secret."
Investigators suspect that the Republican billionaire violated the Anti-Spyware Act, which strictly oversees who and how possesses classified documents.
In his court filing, Trump asserted that the documents had been declassified.
When FBI agents searched the homes of Trump's former lawyers, Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, the Manhattan District Attorney's office requested a special expert.
Trump's request was referred to US District Judge Eileen M. Cannon, whom Trump had appointed to the court.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said that the plaintiffs will submit their response to the request to the court.
Bruce Reinhart, the US District Judge in West Palm Beach who approved the search warrant, is considering whether to ask the Justice Department to release a copy of the injunction revealing the possible reason for the search of Trump's home.
In a hearing last week, the Justice Ministry rejected that, saying it would reveal a "roadmap" for its investigation, which could deter witnesses from cooperating.