Source: CD Media

A federal judge is siding with Project Veritas over its request for an independent party to review the cellphones the FBI seized from the group’s founder James O’Keefe.

On Wednesday, Judge Analisa Torres from the Southern District of New York is ordering a “special master” to be appointed to oversee the review of O’Keefe’s devices, citing potential First Amendment concerns.

“The Court recognizes, as other courts in this district have concluded, that ‘the Southern District prosecutors have integrity and decency,’ and the filter team alone could conduct the review ‘with utmost integrity,’” Torres wrote. “However, the Court determines that the appointment of a special master is warranted here because ‘it is important that the procedure adopted… not only be fair but also appear to be fair.’ … In light of the potential First Amendment concerns that may be implicated by the review of the materials seized from Petitioners, the Court finds that the appointment of a special master will ‘help to protect the public’s confidence in the administration of justice.’”

“The appointment of a Special Master over the objections of the Department of Justice is further evidence of Government overreach in their heavy-handed violation of the First Amendment and journalistic privilege during the investigation of the purported theft of a diary belonging to the daughter of the President,” a representative for Project Veritas told Fox News in a statement.

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