A Federal Appeals Court panel from the 11th Circuit heard arguments today on the DOJ’s appeal of the District Judge Aileen Cannon’s appointment of a Special Master to review the seized documents. The Circuit Court had previously rebuffed the district court by holding that the Special Master did not need to review classified documents. The current appeal involves non-classified documents.
The panel consists of three Republican appointees, two of whom were appointed by Trump. Forbes reports that “[t]he judges repeatedly questioned Trump attorney Jim Trusty over whether there was any court precedent to back up the ex-president’s arguments against the Justice Department taking documents from Mar-A-Lago, and Judge Britt Grant noted Trump ‘hasn’t really made much of an effort’ to show he needs access to the documents the DOJ seized.” The judges also expressed the view in their questioning that Trump’s argument amounted to a claim for special treatment because he is a former president. With respect to the need for review because some non-government documents were seized, Judge William H. Pryor, a George W. Bush appointee, we can’t blame “the government if someone has intermingled classified documents with all other personal property.”
You can check out the Forbes article HERE.
One shouldn’t read too much into judges’ questioning at an oral argument. But given the Circuit Court’s prior rebuff of Judge Cannon, the questioning suggests a favorable ruling for DOJ.