The former US president Donald Trump (pictured) has asked a judge to freeze the US Department of Justice’s investigation of files seized from his Mar-a-Lago home.

In a document filed in a Florida court, his legal team asked for an independent lawyer to be appointed to oversee the documents that FBI agents took earlier this month.

The FBI had said that 11 sets of classified files were taken from Trump's Florida estate on 8 August.

Trump is being investigated for potentially mishandling documents by taking them from the White House to his home after he left office. US presidents must transfer all of their documents and emails to the National Archive.

Bid to ‘thwart’ Trump run

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and has said that the items were declassified.

According to the BBC, the former president’s legal team described the department's search as "simply wanting the camel's nose under the tent so they could rummage for either politically helpful documents, or support efforts to thwart President Trump from running again".

The "shockingly aggressive move" on Mar-a-Lago by about two dozen FBI agents took place "with no understanding of the distress that it would cause most Americans", said Trump's lawyers.

The department said in a brief statement that prosecutors were aware of Mr Trump's lawsuit, and would respond in court.