Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in seized documents case

The FBI seized documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate Aug. 8.

October 4, 2022, 4:30 PM

Former President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling restoring the Justice Department's access to classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

"The Eleventh Circuit lacked jurisdiction to review, much less stay, an interlocutory order of the District Court providing for the Special Master to review materials seized from President Trump’s home, including approximately 103 documents the Government contends bear classification markings. This application seeks to vacate only that portion of the Eleventh Circuit’s Stay Order limiting the scope of the Special Master’s review of the documents bearing classification markings," Trump's lawyers write.

PHOTO: FBI photograph of redacted documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container stored in former U.S. president Donald Trump's Florida estate that was included in a U.S. Department of Justice filing Aug. 30, 2022.
FBI photograph of redacted documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container stored in former U.S. president Donald Trump's Florida estate that was included in a U.S. Department of Justice filing Aug. 30, 2022.
U.S. Department Of Justice via Reuters

The application was made to Justice Clarence Thomas, circuit justice for the 11th Circuit.

On Sept. 21, a panel of judges on the appeals court granted a request from the Justice Department to stay portions of a ruling by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that had effectively paused the government's investigation into Trump's potential mishandling of classified records after leaving office.

The three-judge panel, comprised of two Trump appointees and a Barack Obama appointee, ruled unanimously that the Justice Department was no longer enjoined from investigating the documents with classification markings that were recovered from Mar-a-Lago and will no longer had to submit those materials to special master Ray Dearie for his review.

PHOTO: An aerial view shows former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents searched it, in Palm Beach, Fla. Aug. 15, 2022.
An aerial view shows former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents searched it, in Palm Beach, Fla. Aug. 15, 2022.
Marco Bello/Reuters

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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