In a major blow to Donald Trump, a United States appeals court on Thursday ended third-party review of documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home.
A modified FBI photo of documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container stored at the Florida estate of former US President Donald Trump. (Photo: Reuters)
by ReutersIn a blow to Donald Trump, a US appeals court on Thursday overturned a judge’s appointment of an independent arbitrator to examine documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home and turned over all records in the former president’s criminal investigation. allowed to use. ,
The 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled in favor of the Justice Department challenging a September ruling by US District Judge Elaine Cannon in Florida that named a “special master” to review the records so that To decide whether something should be kept. Investigator.
A three-judge 11th Circuit panel said that Cannon lacked authority to grant Trump’s request for a special mastermind in a lawsuit he was subjected to by FBI agents at his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8. Two weeks after the court-approved search was filed. Palm Beach. It also overturned Cannon’s decision to block investigators from accessing most records pending review, and dismissed Trump’s lawsuit.
Trump is facing a federal criminal investigation into his retention of sensitive government records after he leaves office in January 2021, including whether he violated a 1917 law called the Espionage Act that protects national security. Makes it an offense to release information harmful to the public. Investigators are also looking into possible unlawful obstruction of the investigation.
FBI agents seized approximately 11,000 records during the search, including nearly 100 marked as classified.
The 11th Circuit said that a search warrant for the former president’s property was “extraordinary”, but that it did not grant “judicial license to interfere with the investigation”. The court also said that Trump had not proved that the search of his assets was a “blatant disregard” for his constitutional rights, one of the few reasons the court could interfere with the ongoing investigation.
The panel wrote, “The law is clear. We cannot prescribe a rule that permits any subject of a search warrant to prevent government investigation after the execution of the warrant.” “Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so.”
The 11th Circuit panel consisted of Judge William Pryor, a Republican appointed by former President George W. Bush, as well as two of Trump’s own appointees, Judges Andrew Brasher and Britt Grant.
Trump is likely to appeal the 11th Circuit’s action to the conservative-majority US Supreme Court. The 11th Circuit said its order would not take effect for seven days, during which time Trump could challenge it.
A spokesman for Trump called the decision “purely procedural and based only on jurisdiction”, and said it did not address the merits of the case.
“President Donald J. Trump will continue to fight against the weaponized Department of ‘Justice’ while standing up for America and Americans,” the spokesperson said.
The news came as top Justice Department officials gathered in Washington for the annual holiday party. He learned that he had won the case from the reporters who were also in attendance.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment.
Three days after Trump announced the run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, US Attorney General Merrick Garland on November 18 appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to oversee the criminal investigation into the documents and another Trump was related to
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump to his Judiciary, named another federal judge, Raymond Deary, to review the record to consider whether someone should be recused from a criminal investigation. .
Cannon blocked prosecutors from using the documents discovered as part of their criminal investigation until the conclusion of the Derry review, although a separate 11th Circuit panel later granted the government access to material marked classified. Of.
Trump’s lawyers had asked Deary to ascertain whether certain documents are protected by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that allows presidents to keep certain communications secret, or meet the definition of “personal” papers that are classified as private. should be kept. Trump’s lawyers argued that he designated some of the records as his personal papers, a claim that the Justice Department disputes.