Trump claims he designated seized documents 'as personal records' — DOJ says he can't do that

Lawyers for erstwhile President Donald Trump are arguing that hundreds of documents that the FBI seized from his Florida residence are "personal" due to the fact that helium said so.

But national prosecutors accidental helium cannot deem the records idiosyncratic "simply by saying so."

In a caller tribunal filing, the Department of Justice besides accused Trump of "gamesmanship" by saying helium volition asseverate enforcement privilege implicit dozens of documents if a court-appointed watchdog rejects his assertion that they are "personal" successful nature.

The warfare implicit what Trump's purported words mean is playing retired successful a national tribunal successful Florida, wherever the erstwhile president's lawyers and attorneys for the DOJ briefed a justice past week connected the presumption of issues related to the records seized successful aboriginal August from Trump's Mar-a-Lago nine successful Palm Beach. The ineligible briefs were unsealed Monday.

The DOJ is criminally investigating Trump for the removal of authorities records from the White House, and imaginable obstruction of justness related to the lag successful getting those documents backmost from him. More than a 100 documents were marked classified.

Government records are by instrumentality the spot of the authorities and indispensable beryllium transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration erstwhile a president leaves office.

A court-appointed watchdog, known arsenic a peculiar master, is reviewing the records to find which should beryllium barred from being examined by the DOJ arsenic portion of its probe owed to imaginable privileges. Those see the documents being idiosyncratic oregon taxable to enforcement privilege.

In their filing past week, Trump's lawyers wrote, "The Presidential Records Act authorizes a sitting President to designate records arsenic idiosyncratic records during his word successful office."

"The questions present earlier the Special Master is truthful whether a President has the authorization to determine whether a papers is simply a 'Presidential record' oregon a 'personal record,'" the lawyers wrote.

"Both the plain connection of the PRA and past tribunal decisions reply this question successful the affirmative," they added.

Trump's attorneys went connected to accidental that helium was inactive serving arsenic president erstwhile the documents were packed, transported and delivered to Mar-a-Lago.

"Thus, erstwhile helium made a designation decision, helium was President of the United States; his determination to clasp definite records arsenic idiosyncratic is entitled to deference, and the records successful question are frankincense presumptively personal," the lawyers wrote.

The attorneys besides argued that the peculiar maestro has not been tasked with assessing "the correctness" of Trump's designation of the records.

"It is the President's designation, not the quality oregon contented of a fixed papers — that is determinative," they wrote.

DOJ lawyers scoffed astatine those arguments successful their ain brief.

Trump "may not designate records qualifying arsenic 'Presidential records' nether the Presidential Records Act ... arsenic his 'personal records' simply by saying so," the DOJ attorneys wrote.

The lawyers added that neither that instrumentality nor judicial precedent gives Trump "the quality to disregard the statute by removing Presidential records from the White House, retaining them (without authorization) successful a idiosyncratic retention space, and past 'deem[ing]' them to beryllium 'personal.'"

The DOJ besides argued that if Trump "categorizes a papers arsenic a idiosyncratic record, past helium cannot asseverate enforcement privilege implicit that document."

The lawyers wrote that idiosyncratic records are ones of a backstage quality which bash not subordinate to oregon person an effect connected a president performing their duties, portion enforcement privilege "protects Presidential communications related to the show of authoritative duties."

Trump seemingly recognizes that a "document cannot beryllium some a idiosyncratic grounds and 1 protected by enforcement privilege," and has identified dozens of records "that helium asserts enforcement privilege lone if the Special Master rejects his assertion that a papers is simply a 'personal' grounds and determines that it is simply a Presidential record," the DOJ attorneys wrote.

"The Special Master should not indulge this benignant of gamesmanship," the lawyers wrote.

The DOJ attorneys went connected to accidental that Trump cannot asseverate enforcement privilege to withhold the seized documents from investigators.

Either way, they noted, helium has asserted enforcement privilege implicit conscionable 121 documents of the much than 2,900 seized, the lawyers said.

Because of that, "there is nary ground to proceed restricting the government's reappraisal and usage for transgression investigative purposes of the remaining 2,794 documents," the attorneys wrote. "The Special Master should truthful urge that the Court's injunction arsenic to those remaining documents [which bars DOJ from reviewing them for now] ... beryllium lifted."