Judge grants Trump’s request for special master

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed Monday to appoint a special master to review documents taken from former President Donald Trump’s home by the Justice Department. She also temporarily halted the department’s use of the documents for investigative purposes.

What will the special master do? He or she will review the seized material and set apart any documents protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege. Trump’s attorneys requested the independent review, but the Justice Department said it would slow down the investigation. Cannon wrote in her 24-page decision that the inconvenience was warranted due to the “unprecedented circumstances” surrounding the case.

Dig deeper: Read Lynn Vincent’s report in WORLD magazine about how the FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate might indicate a new era in American politics.