11th Circuit Vacates Cannon’s Order to Appoint a Special Master in Mar-a-lago Investigation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled to reverse an order issued by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to appoint a special master to oversee the review of classified documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-lago residence on Aug. 8.
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
On Dec. 1, in a unanimous per curiam decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled to reverse an order issued by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to appoint a special master to oversee the review of classified documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-lago residence on Aug. 8.
The 11th Circuit found that Cannon “improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction” in hearing the case and that the entire proceeding should be dismissed. Notably, the court also found that regardless of the status of a document in question (personal or presidential), the government maintains the authority to seize it under a warrant supported by probable cause.
The panel wrote, “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.”
You can read the opinion here or below:
