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Law and JusticeUnited States of America

US DOJ appeals Mar-a-Lago examination hold

September 17, 2022

A federal judge had previously denied the request, impeding the US Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into classified documents reportedly found at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.

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The logo of the US Department of Justice
The US Department of Justice is currently investigating former President Donald Trump over classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago residence in FloridaImage: Patrick Semansky/AP/picture alliance

The US Justice Department on Friday appealed a court ruling that temporarily blocked it from reviewing classified materials seized at former President Donald Trump's residence at Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence was searched by the FBI on August 8.

What did the Justice Department request?

The Justice Department said the circuit court should halt part of the lower court decision that prevents prosecutors from relying on the classified documents in their criminal investigation.

The department argued in its filing that the temporary halting of the reviews was impeding "the government's efforts to protect the nation's security."

"The government and the public would suffer irreparable harm absent a stay," it said.

The Justice Department also asked that senior US judge Raymond Dearie, a third party appointed to examine the records, not be permitted to review the materials.

The government asked the appeals court to rule on the request "as soon as possible."

Classified documents reportedly found by the FBI at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence
On Thursday, a court appointed an independent arbiter, known as a special master, to examine classified documents seized at Mar-a-LagoImage: Department of Justice/AP Photo/picture alliance

Judge denies requests

On Thursday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon rejected the same requests.

Earlier this month, Cannon directed the department to halt the examination of the records until a further court order or until the completion of a report of an independent arbiter.

Cannon appointed Dearie on Thursday as special master, directing him to prioritize classified documents and giving him a deadline until the end of November.

The judge was appointed to the bench in 2022 by Trump. Trump appointees make up six of the 11 active judges on the appeals court where the Justice Department made the filing.

Around 100 classified documents were recovered among the 11,000 records gathered from the FBI search of Trump's residence.

sdi/wd (AP, Reuters)