Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit challenging the FBI raid and seizure of documents from Mar-a-Lago after a federal appeals court recently threw out the special master for Trump’s case.
Federal Judge Inclined to Grant Trump’s Request for Special Master in Mar-a-Lago Raid
In September, Judge Cannon appointed a special master to review the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
However, the Justice Department argued that a special master didn’t have a right to filter out the seized documents.
The court said Judge Cannon erred in appointing Raymond Dearie as a special master to review documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
“The law is clear,” the judges wrote.
“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.”
The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled Dec. 1 that Cannon should not have appointed the special master, writing that she “improperly exercised” an expansion of her jurisdiction.
“Dismissal of the entire proceeding is required,” read the opinion of the panel, which included two judges appointed by Trump.
On Monday, Judge Cannon ended the case in a one-page signed order for lack of jurisdiction.
CNBC reported:
A federal judge on Monday dismissed former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit challenging the government’s access to materials seized from his Mar-a-Lago resort, marking the formal end to Trump’s monthslong legal fight following the FBI’s raid of his home.
The judge’s order came four days after Trump declined to appeal a higher-court ruling that canceled the appointment of a special master to review the thousands of items taken by federal agents during an Aug. 8 raid of Trump’s Florida residence.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, signed a one-page order dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction. The order, filed in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, also terminated all hearings, deadlines and motions that were still pending in the case. That includes Trump’s effort to obtain an unredacted version of the search warrant affidavit that was used to sanction the raid.
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