Supreme Court Rules Against Trump On Mar-A-Lago Classified Documents

Topline

The Supreme Court ruled against former President Donald Trump Thursday, refusing to grant his request that a third-party special master be allowed to review classified materials found at Mar-A-Lago, which ensures Trump won’t be able to shield any classified documents from the DOJ and its criminal investigation by claiming they’re privileged.

Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on February 11 in Palm Beach, Florida.

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Key Facts

The Supreme Court ruled without comment, only noting Trump’s request for the court to partially throw out an order from 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was denied after being considered by Justice Clarence Thomas—who hears cases from the 11th Circuit—and referred to the full court.

The order focuses solely on the classified materials taken from Mar-A-Lago, after the 11th Circuit blocked them from review by the special master, U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie.

Trump asked the court on October 4 to partially throw out the 11th Circuit order, arguing the appeals court didn’t have jurisdiction to hear the case.

Trump did not challenge the other half of the 11th Circuit’s ruling, which allowed the DOJ to have access to the classified materials while Dearie reviews the non-classified ones.

The DOJ opposed Trump’s request in a court filing Tuesday, arguing the 11th Circuit did have jurisdiction to hear the case and Trump’s attorneys hadn’t argued how he would be harmed by the special master not reviewing the classified documents.

Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise and the Justice Department have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Big Number

103. That’s how many documents with classified markings the DOJ seized at Mar-A-Lago and are now at issue. More than 11,000 documents were taken in total from the Florida estate when the DOJ searched it in August.

What To Watch For

The Supreme Court’s ruling means there will be no change to how the special master’s review has been unfolding, with Dearie only allowed to review non-classified documents while the DOJ hangs on to the classified ones. The DOJ is not allowed access to the non-classified documents until Dearie’s review is complete, which it has argued in court is an impediment to its investigation. In addition to the dispute over classified documents specifically, the DOJ has also asked the 11th Circuit to hear an appeal of the full order appointing the special master, which the appeals court has agreed to hear on an expedited timeline. If the DOJ wins that appeal and the court rules before December 16—the deadline for Dearie to finish his review of the documents—it could end the special master’s activities entirely.

Tangent

Trump’s attorneys argued in their filing to the Supreme Court, as they had to lower courts, that the DOJ cannot necessarily claim that seized documents labeled classified actually are, because Trump could have declassified them while in office. Though Trump has claimed to have declassified documents that were taken back to Mar-A-Lago, his attorneys have so far never actually said he did in court. Instead, they told Dearie they cannot give details now on any declassified documents because it could hurt their criminal defense if Trump gets indicted. Dearie and the 11th Circuit have both so far been skeptical of the Trump attorneys’ arguments, with Dearie saying the former president’s team can’t “have your cake and eat it” by using declassification as a defense but not actually saying whether Trump actually took that step. The Supreme Court’s order Thursday did not comment at all on the documents and whether or not they’re classified.

Key Background

The Supreme Court’s order is the latest twist in an ongoing legal battle over the special master, who Trump asked a court to appoint two weeks after the Justice Department searched Mar-A-Lago as part of its investigation into whether Trump bringing White House documents to Florida violated federal law. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, agreed to let a special master review the seized documents over the DOJ’s objections, as the government believed it would hinder its investigation by slowing down the probe. Cannon’s initial order included classified materials and blocked the DOJ from having access to any of the seized documents until the special master’s review is over, prompting the federal government to ask the 11th Circuit to withhold classified documents from Dearie and let investigators hang on to them instead. The panel of 11th Circuit judges, which included two Trump appointees, ruled the DOJ should have access to the classified materials and that Cannon “abused her discretion” by ruling otherwise, and noted the judges “cannot discern why [Trump] would have an individual interest in or need for” the documents himself.