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Rh review of risks to national security. For the same reasons, an injunction would plainly be “adverse to the public interest.” Vital Pharmaceuticals, 23 F.4th at 1291.

Even if the Former President Had Standing, the Appointment of a Special Master Would Be Unnecessary and Would Interfere with Legitimate Government Interests

As described above, the government’s privilege review team has already identified any materials potentially subject to attorney-client privilege, and the government’s investigative team has already reviewed all of the materials that were not segregated by the privilege review team. Appointment of a special master to review potential privilege claims in either category is therefore unnecessary. It would do little or nothing to protect any legitimate interests that Plaintiff may have while impeding the government’s ongoing criminal investigation, as well as the Intelligence Community’s review of potential risks to national security that may have resulted from the improper storage of the seized materials.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53 Counsels Against Appointment of a Special Master in Circumstances Such as These

In this procedural posture, a special master can be appointed, without the parties’ consent, only to address “pretrial and posttrial matters that cannot be effectively and timely addressed by an available district judge or magistrate judge of the district.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(a)(1)(C). “[R]eference to a master under Rule 53 is to be the exception and not the rule.” Hayes v. Foodmaker, Inc., 634 F.2d 802, 803 (5th Cir. Unit A 1981) (per curiam) (citing La Buy v. Howes Leather Co., 352 U.S. 249, 257–58 (1957)). Rule 53(a)(1)(C)’s “restrictive language”—limiting appointments to cases where judges cannot “effectively” or “timely” address issues themselves—“carries forward the traditional notion that masters are the exception, not the usual or common practice.” 9C Charles Alan Wright and Arthur R. Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc. § 2602.1 (3d ed.).