Appeals court rules against Trump, allows DOJ to restart investigation of documents seized at Mar-a-Lago



A federal appeals court ruled against former President Donald Trump and allowed the Department of Justice to restart its investigation into the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

A panel of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a previous order by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon was incorrect. Cannon had granted Trump's request to appoint a "special master" to independently determine whether classified documents were protected by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. That order also paused the DOJ probe until those documents were properly assessed.

Liberals and other critics decried the ruling because Judge Cannon had been nominated during Trump's term as president.

On Thursday, the appeals court vacated the Cannon ruling.

“The law is clear. We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant,” the panel wrote. “Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so."

All three judges on the panel were appointed by Republican presidents.

They went on to write that they "agree with the government that the district court improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction, and that dismissal of the entire proceeding is required.”

Trump was hit with another court defeat when the Supreme Court refused to block an order allowing the House Ways and Means Committee to obtain six years of his tax returns from the Treasury Department.

Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) applauded the ruling.

"These documents are vital to meeting the House’s Constitutional mandate: guarding the public interest, defending our national security and holding our public officials to account," she wrote in a statement.

Here's more about the order against Trump:

BREAKING: Appeals Court Blocks Special Master's Review Of Documents Taken From Trump's Mar-A-Lagowww.youtube.com

Supreme Court denies Trump request to intervene in Mar-a-Lago document fight with Justice Dept



The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from former President Donald Trump to intervene in his legal fight against the Department of Justice over classified documents seized at his residence in Mar-a-Lago.

The former president had called for the Supreme Court to review a ruling from the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that allowed the DOJ investigation into his documents to continue.

The justices refused the request Thursday and did not offer any comment on their rationale. There was also no dissent noted.

Trump's legal team had previously requested a special master to independently review the documents seized in order to sort out whether some fall under the province of executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon sided with Trump and appointed a senior judge in the Eastern District of New York as special master.

The Eleventh Circuit, based in Atlanta, ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and said the investigation could continue.

Trump has also said publicly that he personally declassified all documents that were brought into Mar-a-Lago, but his attorneys have not argued that in court.

About 100 documents were found with classified markings among the thousands that were seized by the FBI on August 8.

“Any limit on the comprehensive and transparent review of materials seized in the extraordinary raid of a President’s home erodes public confidence in our system of justice,” argued the former president's legal team to the Supreme Court.

“The Government has attempted to criminalize a document management dispute and now vehemently objects to a transparent process that provides much-needed oversight," it added.

The refusal came from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Here's more about the Supreme Court refusing Trump:

Supreme Court REJECTS Trump appeal on Mar-a-Lago document battle with FBI | LiveNOW from FOXwww.youtube.com

Liberals lash out at judge after she rules against Justice Dept and appoints special master over classified docs



A judge ruled against the Department of Justice on Thursday about lifting an injunction about the use of classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, and many on the left accused the judge of being biased.

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon also appointed a senior judge in the Eastern District of New York as special master to independently oversee the documents, as requested by attorneys representing former President Donald Trump.

“The Court does not find it appropriate to accept the Government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion,” wrote Cannon in the ten-page decision.

The ruling stalls the DOJ investigation into documents the FBI seized from Trump's residence.

The special master will review the documents seized in order to ascertain whether any are subject to client-attorney privilege or presidential executive privilege and cannot be used in criminal prosecution against Trump.

Trump has argued that he gave a general order to declassify all documents that were brought to Mar-a-Lago, but critics claim that he didn't follow the proper process to do so and is vulnerable to prosecution.

Many of those critics took to social media to accuse the judge of bias because she was appointed by Trump.

"Anyone think it is problematic that the presiding judge overseeing the Trump Mar-a-Lago case was appointed by Trump and is a member of the Federalist Society," replied Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko.

"With ... Trump’s Judge allowing a Special Master to view stolen Classified Documents, we’re getting a taste of what Autocracy is like. If we don’t hold onto Congress, we’ll get a lot more than a taste. VOTE!" responded filmmaker Rob Reiner.

"The most Trumpian thing ever said by a Trump judge is in the 'special master' order issued tonight," said MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell who added a promo for his show.

Here's a video about the ruling:

Judge names special master to review documents seized at Mar-a-Lagowww.youtube.com