Federal Appeals Court Ends Special Master Review of Records Seized from Mar-a-Lago

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did not have the legal authority to appoint a special master to review the documents the FBI seized during the raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

“The law is clear. We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so,” a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit wrote.

The 11th Circuit judges issued their decision after Trump’s lawyers and government lawyers presented oral arguments in front of the court last month.

As the Washington Post reported:

During oral arguments, government attorney Sopan Joshi called the decision to name a special master an “intrusion” on the executive branch.

But James Trusty, an attorney for Trump, said the special master appointment didn’t significantly hamper the government’s criminal probe. Trusty said the search of Mar-a-Lago was conducted in a “carte blanche” manner, with agents taking personal items including golf shirts and a photo of singer Celine Dion.