Former President Trump’s legal team has elevated its legal battle to the Supreme Court, requesting that Justice Clarence Thomas, who has jurisdiction over the 11th Circuit, vacate the stay by the court, which allowed the Justice Department to continue its review of classified documents seized during the FBI’s unprecedented raid of Mar-a-Lago.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued an injunction against the DOJ's use of any of the 100 documents purportedly marked as classified to be used for investigative purposes. The 11th Circuit overturned Cannon's order, and prevented court-appointed Special Master Raymond Dearie from reviewing those materials.
But Trump's legal team on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to intervene.
"The unprecedented circumstances presented by this case—an investigation of the Forty-Fifth President of the United States by the administration of his political rival and successor—compelled the District Court to acknowledge the significant need for enhanced vigilance and to order the appointment of a Special Master to ensure fairness, transparency, and maintenance of the public trust," the filing states.
"That appointment order is simply not appealable on an interlocutory basis and was never before the Eleventh Circuit. Nonetheless, the Eleventh Circuit granted a stay of the Special Master Order, effectively compromising the integrity of the well-established policy against piecemeal appellate review and ignoring the District Court’s broad discretion without justification," the filing states.
Trump’s legal team added that this "unwarranted stay should be vacated as it impairs substantially the ongoing, time-sensitive work of the Special Master."
"Moreover, 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," the filing continued.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
