Donald Trump's attorneys urged a court to allow the special master to proceed with reviewing the 11,000 documents seized from Mar-a-Lago, arguing he could experience irreparable damage without the review.

The arguments come as the Justice Department appealed the decision to let special master U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie review the documents found at Mar-a-Lago.

In arguing that the special master's appointment be upheld on Thursday, attorneys James Trusty and Christopher Kise characterized the Justice Department's investigation as 'unprecedented' and as being carried out by 'the administration of his political rival.'

The current appeal is the latest in a back and forth of appeals which have dogged the investigation into the hundreds of documents - purported to be confidential government records illegally taken by Trump to his Florida home - seized by the FBI in August.

Trump's attorneys have argued that many of the documents seized by the FBI were merely personal documents, and that the Justice Department is trying to 'criminalize' Trump for possessing his own 'personal records.'

They have also argued that the contents of personal documents seized in the raid could needlessly damage his reputation, and asked for the assignment of a special counsel to review the documents and deem which should be removed from the investigation.

< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 3 NEXT SLIDE >

Donald Trump's attorneys called the Justice Department's investigation into the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago as 'criminal' today

© Provided by Daily Mail

Trusty and Kise called the investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents as a dispute that had 'spiraled out of control.'

'This investigation of President Trump by the administration of his political rival is both unprecedented and misguided,' Trusty and Kise said, according to USA Today.

'In what at its core is a document dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records.'

Dearie was due to complete his review of the documents as special master by December 16, but the process has become bogged down in appeals.

© Provided by Daily Mail The FBI raided Donald Trump's Florida home, the resort Mar-a-Lago, in August

© Provided by Daily Mail Trump's attorneys, Christopher Kise (left) and James Trusty (right) arrive for a hearing in September

The special master was first appointed in September, with the Justice Department filing an appeal shortly after. 

The Justice Department asked that Dearie not be permitted access to government files marked confidential, lest Trump's attorney's see what was in them.

A panel of judges upheld that appeal.

At the end of September the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a halt of the special master's review while the Justice Department prepared evidence and arguments for their appeal.

© Provided by Daily Mail A sketch of U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in his first appearance as special counsel

© Provided by Daily Mail The Supreme Court's decision to not hear Trump's appeal of the halting of the special master

Trump's attorneys then asked the Supreme Court to overrule that decision, arguing but the court threw it out. None of the nine justices issued a public dissent. 

Trump's lawyers have argued that some documents may be protected under attorney-client privilege or executive privilege, but the government argues that simply does not make sense in the case of documents that have been classified.

Federal officials obtained a court-approved warrant to search Trump's residence in August after suspecting that not all presidential documents in his possession had been returned after his presidency ended.

Investigators searched for evidence of potential crimes related to unlawfully retaining national defense information and obstructing a federal investigation.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and has called the investigation politically motivated.

© Provided by Daily Mail Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on the day of the 2022 midterm elections