US appeals court rejects Trump’s request for a “special master” in the papers case

• A “special master” investigation of records taken from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate has come to an end, according to a US appeals court.
• The US Department of Justice, which is investigating whether Mr. Trump took sensitive information with him when he left the White House, benefits from the decision.
• An impartial attorney known as the “special master” makes the determination of which documents fall under the executive or attorney-client privilege.

A “special master” investigation of records taken from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate has come to an end, according to a US appeals court.

The US Department of Justice, which is investigating whether Mr. Trump took sensitive information with him when he left the White House, benefits from the decision.

An impartial attorney known as the “special master” makes the determination of which documents fall under the executive or attorney-client privilege.

The documents can now be fully examined by investigators.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit US Courts of Appeal in Atlanta rendered the decision on Thursday after the Department of Justice appealed a judgement from September that had granted Mr. Trump’s request for the special master review.

There was no “judicial licence to interfere in an ongoing investigation,” the appeals court ruled in its decision.

“Law is unambiguous. Any person who is the subject of a search warrant cannot be given the authority to obstruct government investigations after the order has been executed. We also cannot create a law restricting this to only former presidents “The judge wrote.

The Department of Justice’s investigation into Mr. Trump’s handling of secret documents would have been delayed by a special master review since the agency was not permitted to see or use the materials until it was finished.

The special master for his case was appointed to be 78-year-old New York judge Raymond Dearie, who was first nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Whether Mr. Trump and his attorneys will file an appeal against Thursday’s decision is unknown.

Mr. Trump is under investigation for allegedly taking highly sensitive government information with him after leaving the White House to his private Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago.

The National Archives should have received these documents, according to the authorities, as is expected of US presidents when they leave office.

In January, the FBI seized 15 boxes of White House papers that contained “highly secret reports,” some of which were “intermixed with other information,” and Mr. Trump’s “handwritten notes,” according to sources. In August, they also took 20 more boxes.

The Department of Justice claimed that Mr. Trump stole 11 sets of secret documents from the White House in all.

The former president vigorously disputed any misconduct, asserting that as president, he had declassified all the relevant documents and that they were safely stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

Mr. Trump’s attorneys claimed in their request for a special master that some of the records are exempt from disclosure because of the attorney-client privilege, which is a US provision that permits persons to keep discussions with their attorneys private.

Trump investigation’s timetable

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• January 2022 : The National Archives removes 15 boxes of White House archives from Mar-a-Lago and claims some of the documents it obtained at the end of the Trump administration were broken up.
• February: The National Archives requests the Department of Justice to look into reports that classified documents were discovered in the Mar-a-Lago stockpile.
• June 3: US media reports in April that the FBI has launched a preliminary probe. Three FBI agents and a senior DoJ official visit Mar-a-Lago in order to examine objects that were kept in the basement. Mr. Trump claims that he said, “Whatever you need, just let us know.”
• 8 June: Federal investigators ask for a stronger lock to be used to secure the room housing the items in a letter to a Trump aide. Trump claims that his request was immediately complied with.
• on June 22: The DoJ summons The Trump Organization for Mar-a-Lago CCTV footage
• 8 August: According to the search warrant, dozens of agents search Mar-a-Lago and seize more than 33 boxes, some of which contained top-secret documents.
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• August 12: A warrant released  revealed that 11 sets of classified documents had been taken.
• August 25: The judge ordered the justice department to release a redacted version of the court documents that had persuaded him to authorize a search of the Trump estate.
• September 5: A judge approves Mr. Trump’s request for a “special master” to review the documents .
• December 1st: Special master decision is overturned by a US appeals court, allowing the DoJ full access to documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

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