Trump Asks Supreme Court To Rule On Mar-A-Lago Special Master

Topline

Former President Donald Trump’s legal battle over a special master’s review of documents seized from Mar-A-Lago has now reached the Supreme Court, as the ex-president asked the high court Tuesday to overturn an appeals court order that let federal prosecutors hold on to classified documents as they continue their investigation.

Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is seen on September 14 in Palm Beach, Florida.

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Key Facts

Trump asked the Supreme Court to throw out the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ order, which partially undid a district judge’s ruling that granted the special master review, by letting the Justice Department hang on to approximately 100 classified documents and not turn those over to a court-appointed special master.

The ex-president argued the appeals court lacked jurisdiction to issue the ruling, and alleged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, did not “abuse her discretion” with her initial order that directed the special master to review all material recovered by the FBI from Mar-A-Lago—including classified documents.

The 11th Circuit’s order “impairs substantially the ongoing, time-sensitive work of the special master,” Trump’s attorneys argued, also alleging that restricting the special master’s review “erodes public confidence in our system of justice.”

As they’ve done in past court filings, Trump’s attorneys also argued the Justice Department cannot say that the documents marked classified actually are, given that Trump had the authority “to classify or declassify information” as president—though the attorneys did not state whether the ex-president actually did declassify any materials.

The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.

What To Watch For

It’s not clear that the court will actually take up Trump’s request—or when it will rule on it, if it does. The request was submitted to Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees cases that come from the 11th Circuit. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative tilt, including three justices whom Trump appointed himself. While Cannon ruled in Trump’s favor—in a ruling widely decried by legal experts—two of the three judges who issued the 11th Circuit’s ruling were also Trump appointees, so it’s not clear even conservative-leaning justices will necessarily rule in his favor.

Crucial Quote

“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,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in their request to the Supreme Court, alleging that order was “simply not appealable.”

What We Don’t Know

What else the 11th Circuit will do. In addition to its order that allowed the Justice Department to hang on to classified documents, the DOJ has also asked the 11th Circuit to consider an appeal of Cannon’s full order that appointed the special master and declare the entire review invalid. The government has asked that appeal to happen on an expedited timeline, which means it’s possible the court could rule in the DOJ’s favor in time to block the special master review before it finishes, but the 11th Circuit still hasn’t decided whether to agree to that schedule.

Tangent

Around the same time his Supreme Court petition was filed on Tuesday, Trump issued a statement expressing distrust of the National Archives and saying, “I want my documents back!” White House documents from Trump’s presidency are now the property of the National Archives under the Presidential Records Act.

Key Background

The Justice Department searched Mar-A-Lago on August 8 in connection with its ongoing investigation into whether Trump’s team violated federal law by bringing White House documents back to the Florida estate. Trump went to court two weeks later asking for a special master to review the more than 11,000 documents the federal government seized. Cannon granted that request and appointed U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie to complete the review, which will determine if any materials the DOJ seized are shielded under either attorney-client or executive privilege. The DOJ then asked the 11th Circuit to let it hang on to classified documents after Cannon refused to walk her order back, arguing that blocking the government from having classified documents while Dearie reviews them “hamstrings” its investigation and would delay the probe. The 11th Circuit sided with the DOJ, ruling Cannon had “abused her discretion” and the judges “cannot discern why [Trump] would have an individual interest in or need for any of the … documents with classification markings.” Dearie’s review of the materials is scheduled to end by December 16, after Cannon extended the deadline last week.