The Department of Justice asked a judge to rescind his Wednesday order allowing former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to have samples from George Floyd's heart reexamined as part of an appeal.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson agreed in an order Monday to let the defense examine Floyd's heart tissue and fluid samples to test a theory that Floyd died in 2020 of a heart condition aggravated by a rare tumor, not -- as prosecutors contend -- from asphyxiation caused by the officer pressing his knee on Floyd's neck for 9 1/2 minutes.

Federal prosecutors said the request "defies belief" adding that "no legal basis exists for Defendant's discovery requests."