'All but moot': Why Trump's request for special master in Mar-a-Lago case may flop

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday notified a federal court judge it has completed a preliminary review of all items seized from Mar-a-Lago and “identified a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information,” which it will handle according to existing legal procedures.

According to top national security attorney Brad Moss, that announcement likely makes Donald Trump’s legal team’s request for a special master “all but moot.” Let’s watch as CBS News Scott MacFarland breaks down the implications of the new filing by the DOJ.

In the three-page court filing Monday, posted by Politico’s Kyle Cheney, the Justice Department adds that it “is in the process of following the procedures set forth in paragraph 84 of the search warrant affidavit to address potential privilege disputes, if any.”

“Additionally, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (‘ODNI’) are currently facilitating a classification review of materials recovered pursuant to the search. As the Director of National Intelligence advised Congress, ODNI is also leading an intelligence community assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of these materials.”

Trump took to his social media platform TruthSocial following the DOJ’s released filing Monday, griping about Hunter Biden’s laptop and demanding a new election.

“So now it comes out, conclusively, that THE FBI BURIED THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP BEFORE THE ELECTION, knowing that, if they didn’t 'Trump would have easily won the 2020 Presidential Election,'" Trump falsely claimed Monday. "This is massive FRAUD & ELECTION INTERFERENCE at a level never seen before in our Country. REMEDY: Declare the rightful winner, or and this would be the minimal solution, declare the 2020 Election irreparably compromised and have a new Election immediately!”

Trump’s legal team was mocked in the media last week for doing little to protect their client, and it now seems their motion for a “special master” to review all items federal agents seized when they executed the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago was too little and too late.

Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon will decide if a special master will be appointed in his case on Sept. 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida.