CNN
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The appeals court’s ruling that reverses the special master process put in place to search for Mar-a-Lago responds to former President Donald Trump’s claims about why materials seized from his home should be subject to external review. It was a big condemnation.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals revealed on Thursday that a federal judge initially disapproved of being involved after Trump first appealed for the search.
The Justice Department has been unable to use most of the hundreds of documents it obtained in its investigation into a criminal investigation, pending review by Brooklyn Federal Court Senior Judge Raymond Deary. Appointed by Florida President Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon, who was instructed to dismiss the lawsuit.
The opinion was conveyed in the controversy surrounding the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida residence and resort, which was carried out in August as part of a criminal investigation into whether documents from the White House were mishandled.
Here’s what you need to know about the 11th Circuit Court’s decision.
The Court of Appeals ruled that requesting a special master would give Trump special treatment because he was a former president, or that the subject of a Justice Department investigation would seek such judicial intervention. He said he is asking the court to substantially expand the
On the former point, the court, in a shot of how Cannon alluded to these concerns in its order requesting review, made it clear that the former president did not deserve special consideration because of his status.
“It is highly unusual for the warrant to be executed at the former president’s home, but it is not in a manner that would affect our legal analysis or give us jurisdiction to interfere with ongoing investigations,” the court said. .
The Court of Appeals was critical of how Cannon intervened in the Justice Department investigation. The 11th Circuit has said the court can only intervene at this stage of a criminal investigation if it finds that the subject’s constitutional rights have been violated.
“This restraint prevents unnecessary judicial intrusion into the process of criminal investigation, a sphere of power entrusted to the executive branch,” the court wrote.
Three other conditions must be met for courts to interfere in criminal investigations as Canon did, the Court of Appeals wrote, but in Trump’s lawsuit for a special ruler, they were not satisfied.
“There is no documented evidence that the government exceeded the scope of the warrant, which, again, was authorized by a magistrate’s probable cause finding,” the court wrote. “Again, plaintiffs’ allegations apply universally. Presumably, the subject of the search warrant wants to return all property before the government has a chance to use it. ”
An appeals court has sparked Trump’s shifting arguments as to why the appointment of a special master was justified. said. The 11th Circuit pointed out that the passport — Trump’s prime example of why the FBI acquired something that should have been returned immediately — had already been returned to him. The 11th Circuit said Trump’s focus on whether the materials seized in Marlago were his personal property, not government records, misses the point. .
The Court of Appeal stated, “While discussing this element at oral argument, plaintiffs’ counsel noted that the seized items included a ‘golf shirt’ and a ‘photograph of Celine Dion. “The government acknowledges that the plaintiff ‘may have ownership interest in his personal property.’ Plaintiff may have an interest in these and similar items.” However, we do not believe it should be returned immediately after seizure, possibly under a legitimate search warrant.”
The ruling will not go into effect for seven days, giving President Trump time to seek an order suspending the ruling while he appeals. This is a shorter deadline than the timeline under which an appeal ruling would normally take effect, indicating that the court of appeals is unwilling to stretch the proceedings unnecessarily.
The Court of Appeals previously accelerated the DOJ’s appeal hearing schedule. And her 21-page opinion turned around just nine days after an 11th Circuit panel gave oral arguments.
Trump’s attorneys are weighing whether to take the matter to the Supreme Court. But the fact that Trump lost on a panel of conservative Republican-appointed judges (two of whom he appointed himself, and the third by Judge William Pryor, the chief justice of the circuit) makes this It does not imply that it will be a promising means of election. Former president.
If Trump decides to go to the Supreme Court in this case, it will be after a losing streak in which the High Court has refused to intervene on his behalf.
The Supreme Court has previously refused to get involved in the early stages of the Mar-a-Lago special master battle. raised a serious issue.
Also, the Supreme Court recently denied Trump’s motion to block the IRS from granting a House committee access to his tax returns, and earlier this year, a judge ruled that the National Archives would approve his white papers. That didn’t stop House from submitting the Jan. 6 investigation record to the House of Representatives.
