The Department of Justice is seeking an expedited appeal of the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s decision to appoint a special master to review the documents seized by the FBI during its search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
In a Friday filing with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Department of Justice is proposing that the appeal’s legal briefing conclude by Nov. 14, with oral arguments afterwards, according to Politico.
In the filing, the Department of Justice argues that it is unable to examine records taken from Trump’s Florida estate that may constitute as evidence of crimes.
“The government is thus unable to examine records that were commingled with materials bearing classification markings, including records that may shed light on, for example, how the materials bearing classification markings were transferred to Plaintiff’s residence, how they were stored, and who may have accessed them,” DOJ officials wrote in the appeal. “The records not marked as classified may also constitute evidence of potential violations…”
DOJ officials also stated in the filing that an expedited appeal “if successful” would allow the government to “more quickly resume its full investigation without restraints on its review and use of evidence seized pursuant to a lawful search warrant.
The Justice Department initially informed the U.S. District Judge from the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen M. Cannon on Sept. 8 of its decision to appeal.
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Agents from the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 and seized items, including 11 sets of material that it contends are listed as classified, as well as some that were marked as top secret.
Trump has denied that any of the materials in his possession at Mar-a-Lago were classified.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report
