JTFMax:

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of Obama and Trump appointees blocked access to some classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. The court upheld a ruling from a district court judge who blocked access to 100 of the papers. After reviewing a cache of 11,000 documents from Mar-a-Lago, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked access to about 100 records. However, this ruling only applies to a small portion of the documents.

Trump's legal team opposes the special master's request for review.

The Justice Department is investigating Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, and the former president's legal team is opposing the government's request for a special master to review classified documents. The Justice Department has said that blocking the review of Mar-a-Lago records will prevent it from performing a practical risk assessment and may harm U.S. national security. A judge is expected to rule on whether the request should be made.

The special master, Judge Raymond Dearie, oversees the investigation into the alleged ties between Trump and Russia. He has ordered both sides to present evidence to support their case. In addition, the judge is asking both sides to agree on a vendor for reviewing the seized documents. The court will issue a case management plan once the parties reach a consensus.

The request to review the classified documents resulted from a criminal investigation into the former president's handling of classified materials. The government is also investigating whether Mr. Trump improperly removed records from the White House or whether he failed to turn them over to the National Archives. The Justice Department has requested that a federal appeals court override parts of the special master's order to review the documents.

Trump has presented no evidence that he declassified documents

After a successful appeal, the DOJ can resume its criminal probe of classified documents seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago property. The ruling comes after the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit alleging that the president engaged in fraudulent business practices. The Trump team didn't respond to a request for comment.

The Justice Department had argued that Cannon's order prevented it from carrying out steps to mitigate national security risks. But Cannon said the investigation could continue after a national security assessment is completed. This pause in the investigation could damage the federal government, and it wasn't clear that Trump's team had a valid reason to review classified documents.

The court also rejected Trump's argument that the documents had a personal interest in the president. Instead, the 11th Circuit panel found that Trump did not need to review the records. In this case, a federal criminal investigation would unlikely expose any personal information.

DOJ resumes criminal probe of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago

In a significant victory for the Justice Department, a federal appeals court has overturned a trial judge's ruling to halt federal investigators from reviewing classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. The decision also ended the stay, which had barred the FBI from reviewing the 100 records seized at the resort. Nevertheless, Trump's lawyers have urged the court to allow the investigation to continue and will enable the review of classified documents. A Justice Department spokesperson had no immediate comment, and Trump's attorneys were not available for comment. But earlier this month, the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, seizing more than 11,000 documents, including at least 100 classified documents.

The government appeals court ruled that the Justice Department could use the classified documents seized from the Mar-a-Lago resort if the president violated the law. The appeals court panel consisted of three judges: Judges Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher were appointed by Trump in 2018 and 2020, respectively, while President Barack Obama nominated Judge Robin Rosenbaum in 2014. The court also ordered the Justice Department to evaluate the storage of the classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.