The appeals court overturned the former president’s attempts to block the Justice Department’s access to the tainted documents.
An appeals court has struck down Trump’s bid to block the Justice Department from examining documents seized from him.
The court overturned an earlier decision ordering an outside special counsel to examine documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August, some of which were classified as classified.
The previous decision ordered a special investigator to go through thousands of documents, instead of the Ministry of Justice quickly being able to examine them.
According to the appeals court, the judge did not have the authority to limit the Justice Department’s right to examine the papers.
The decision of the three-member appeals court was unanimous. The decision-makers are Republicans, two of them chosen by Trump himself.
The decision will enter into force within a week, unless it is delayed again.
Trump maintains that the seizure was illegal
The United States Department of Justice is investigating whether Trump broke the law when he took a large number of documents with him after his presidency ends in January 2021.
The ministry is investigating whether the activities of judicial authorities have been obstructed, whether official papers have been handled in a punishable manner, and whether Trump has violated the Espionage Act.
There was a big fuss about it when the federal police FBI made a spectacular search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida in August.
By law, all documents produced by the president must be turned over to the US National Archives.
A Trump representative said after the appeals court’s decision that the latest ruling does not address the “impropriety” of the Mar-a-Lago raid and that Trump plans to continue his fight against the Justice Department.
Officials have not said what the secret documents in Trump’s possession are believed to contain. According to US media, the FBO is looking for at least documents related to nuclear weapons.
Sources: STT, AP, AFP