UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

WEST PALM BEACH DIVISION

CASE NO. 22-CV-81294-CANNON

DONALD J. TRUMP,

Plaintiff,

v. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Defendant. 

________________________________/ 

THE UNITED STATES’ PROPOSED ORDER OF 

APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL MASTER

It is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:

1. Pursuant to Rule 53(a)(1)(C) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and this 

Court’s inherent powers and authority, and subject to a declaration under penalty of perjury 

attesting to the absence of any ground for disqualification under 28 U.S.C. § 455, [name] is 

appointed Special Master. 

Duties 

2. The Special Master will review the materials seized during the August 8, 

2022, execution of a court-authorized search warrant at the premises located at 1100 S. 

Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida 33480; provided, however, the Special Master will not 

review any materials with classification markings (hereinafter the remaining materials will 

be referred to as the “Seized Materials without Classification Markings”).1 The specific 

1

 As this process moves forward, if the government identifies any potentially classified 

information within the contents of any of the Seized Materials without Classification Markings, 

the government will so advise the Court and propose actions to ensure that any such material is 

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duties of the Special Master are as follows and will include all powers necessary to carry out 

those duties: 

a. Identifying personal documents and items in the Seized Materials 

without Classification Markings; 

b. Conducting a privilege review of the Seized Materials without 

Classification Markings and adjudicating privilege disputes between the parties; provided, 

however, that the only privileges to be adjudicated by the Special Master are the attorneyclient privilege and work-product immunity; 

c. In categorizing Seized Materials without Classification Markings as 

personal items or documents, on the one hand, or Presidential records, on the other hand, 

the Special Master will consult with the National Archives and Records Administration

(“NARA”); the government will facilitate the Special Master’s consultations with NARA; 

and 

d. Additional duties may be assigned to the Special Master by the Court 

in subsequent orders, upon notice to the parties and an opportunity to be heard with regard 

to such additional duties. 

3. The Special Master will have the full authority set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 

53(c). 

4. To review the Seized Materials without Classification Markings, the Special 

Master will follow a precise workflow:

a. For documents identified by the government’s filter team as potentially 

privileged –

handled appropriately.

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i. the government’s filter team will provide copies of the 

potentially privileged documents to Plaintiff’s counsel; 

ii. Plaintiff’s counsel will review the potentially privileged 

documents and provide a privilege log to the government’s filter team stating for each 

document whether Plaintiff claims that the document is privileged, whether the document 

sought to be withheld is an attorney-client communication or subject to the qualified workproduct immunity, and the basis for that claim sufficient to enable the government’s filter 

team, Special Master, and Court to assess that claim; and

iii. if the government’s filter team agrees with Plaintiff’s position, 

the document will be returned to Plaintiff; if not, the dispute will go to the Special Master 

and, if either party disagrees with the Special Master’s report and recommendation, to this 

Court for de novo review and decision;

b. For the remaining approximately 11,000 documents – namely, the 

Seized Materials without Classification Markings and excluding documents identified by 

the government’s filter team as potentially privileged –

i. the government will make copies of those documents available 

to Plaintiff’s counsel; 

ii. Plaintiff’s counsel will review those documents, allocate them 

to one of four mutually exclusive and cumulatively exhaustive categories, and no later than 

September 26, 2022, prepare a log similar to the privilege log in 4(a)(ii) sufficient to support 

the categorization into one of the four categories, which are:

aa. Personal documents and items – not privileged,

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bb. Personal documents – privileged as attorney-client 

communications or qualified work-product immunity, 

cc. Presidential records – not claimed as Presidential 

communications privileged, 

dd. Presidential records – claimed as Presidential 

communications privileged (hereinafter, “Executive Privilege”).

iii. For any documents and items claimed by Plaintiff as personal 

documents and items – not privileged, the Special Master will review the claim in 

consultation with NARA;

iv. For any documents claimed by Plaintiff as personal documents 

– privileged as attorney-client communications or qualified work-product immunity, the 

Special Master will submit those additional potentially privileged documents to the 

government’s filter team and follow the process in 4(a);

v. For any documents identified as Presidential records – not 

claimed by Plaintiff as subject to Executive Privilege, those documents shall remain in 

custody of the government, with copies sent to the Archivist of the United States, and may 

be used by the government forthwith for any lawful purpose, including in the government’s 

criminal investigation;

vi. For any documents identified as Presidential records – claimed 

by Plaintiff as subject to Executive Privilege, copies of those documents will be sent to the 

Archivist of the United States, and the process under the Presidential Records Act, 44 

U.S.C. § 2201 et seq., may thereafter be followed.

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Reporting and Judicial Review 

5. Within seven days following the date of this order, the Special Master will

consult with counsel for the parties and provide the Court with a scheduling plan setting 

forth the procedure and timeline for concluding the privilege review and adjudicating any 

disputes as to privilege. The scheduling plan should include a process for resolving disputes 

as to privilege. 

6. The Special Master will file all written scheduling plans, orders, reports, and 

recommendations on the electronic docket, along with any additional information that the 

Special Master believes will assist the Court in reviewing those scheduling plans, orders, 

reports, and recommendations. Any potentially privileged, confidential, or other sensitive

material that is filed will be done so under seal. The Special Master will, during the 

pendency of this matter, including any appeals, preserve any and all documents or other 

materials received from the parties. 

7. The Special Master will make ex parte reports to the Court on an ongoing basis 

concerning the progress in resolving the issues above as the Special Master believes 

appropriate or as the Court requests. 

8. The parties may file objections to, or motions to adopt or modify, the Special 

Master’s scheduling plans, orders, reports, or recommendations no later than ten calendar 

days after the service of each, and the Court will review those objections or motions, and 

any procedural, factual, or legal issues therein, de novo. 

Access to Information 

9. The Special Master will have access to individuals, information, documents, 

and materials relevant to the orders of the Court that are required to perform the Master’s 

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duties, subject to the terms of this Order of Appointment. Such materials will be provided to 

the Special Master on an ex parte basis as the Special Master sees fit in connection with 

potentially privileged materials. The special master may communicate ex parte with the 

Court or either party to facilitate the review; provided, however, that all final decisions will be 

served simultaneously on both parties to allow either party to seek the Court’s review.

10. In particular, the government will provide to the Special Master a copy of the 

Seized Materials without Classification Markings, the search warrant executed in this 

matter, and the redacted public version of the underlying application materials for the 

search warrant. 

Compensation and Expenses 

11. Plaintiff, as the party who requested the Special Master, will bear 100% of the 

professional fees and expenses of the Special Master and any professionals, support staff, 

and expert consultants engaged at the Master’s request. The procedures for establishing and 

paying the Special Master’s compensation and expenses will be determined in a later order. 

Within seven days following the date of this order, the Special Master and counsel for the 

parties will confer on this issue and the Special Master will submit a proposal for the Court’s 

approval as to the procedures for paying the Special Master’s compensation and expenses. 

Engagement of Professionals, Support Staff, and Expert Consultants 

12. If the Special Master determines that the efficient administration of the 

Master’s duties requires the assistance of additional professionals, support staff, or expert 

consultants, the Master may submit a work proposal to the parties, who will have five 

business days to submit comments, after which time the Special Master may submit the 

proposal to the Court for consideration. 

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Other Provisions 

13. As an agent and officer of the Court, the Special Master and those working at 

the Master’s direction will enjoy the same protections from being compelled to give 

testimony and from liability for damages as those enjoyed by other federal judicial adjuncts 

performing similar functions. 

14. As required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(b)(2), the Court directs the Special Master 

to proceed with all reasonable diligence and in any event no later than October 17, 2022. 

15. The Special Master will be discharged or replaced only upon order of this 

Court. 

16. The parties and their agents and employees will observe faithfully the 

requirements of this Order of Appointment and cooperate fully with the Special Master in 

the performance of their duties. Consistent with and in furtherance of this Order of 

Appointment, the Court will separately enter a judicial protective order that among other 

provisions will require the Special Master; any professionals, support staff, and expert 

consultants retained by the Special Master; and any of Plaintiff’s counsel and their staff who 

receive Seized Materials without Classification Markings during the review process not to 

disclose or disseminate such materials or their contents pending this Court’s decision on 

their disposition.

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17. The Court reserves the right to remove the Special Master if the Court finds 

that the parties are not expeditiously completing this work. 

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Fort Pierce, Florida, this ___ day of 

September 2022. 

 

AILEEN M. CANNON

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

cc: counsel of record

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on September 9, 2022, I electronically filed the foregoing 

document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. I also certify that the foregoing 

document is being served this day on all counsel of record via transmission of Notices of 

Electronic Filing generated by CM/ECF.

s/ 

JUAN ANTONIO GONZALEZ

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

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