Federal court lifts hold on classified records found at Trump residence

A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the Justice Department to resume use of classified records seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence as part of its ongoing criminal investigation.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit amounts to a landslide victory for the Justice Department, and paves the way for investigators to continue examining the documents as they consider whether to pursue criminal charges for the case. storage of top-secret records at Mar-a-Lago after former President Donald Trump left the White House.

The court also pointedly noted that Trump had not presented evidence that he had declassified the sensitive records, as he has repeatedly maintained, and rejected the possibility that Trump might have an “individual interest in or need for” the roughly 100 documents marked classified.

The government had argued that its investigation had been hampered by an order by US District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily barring investigators from continuing to use the documents in their investigation. Cannon, a Trump appointee, had said the hold would remain in place until separately reviewed by an independent arbitrator she had appointed at the request of the Trump team.

The appeals panel agreed with the Justice Department’s concerns.

“It is clear that the public has a vested interest in ensuring that the storage of classified records does not result in ‘exceptionally serious harm to national security,'” they wrote. “Verifying that,” they added, “necessarily involves reviewing the documents, determining who had access to them and when, and deciding which sources or methods (if any) are compromised.”

A court order that delayed or prevented the criminal investigation “from using classified materials risks imposing real and significant harm on the United States and the public.”

Two of the three judges who delivered Wednesday’s ruling, Britt Grant and Andrew Brasher, were Trump’s nominees for the 11th Circuit. Judge Robin Rosenbaum was nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Last month, the FBI seized approximately 11,000 documents, including about 100 with classification marks, during a court-authorized search of the Palm Beach club. It has launched a criminal investigation into whether the records were mishandled or compromised. It’s unclear whether Trump or anyone else will be charged.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and turn on notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.