The US Department of Justice on Friday (September 16th) partially appealed the decision of a federal judge authorizing the appointment of an independent expert to review the documents seized by the FBI during a search of Donald Trump's home, asking that the investigation continues around the documents categorized as classified.
Federal investigators have been barred since last week from reviewing thousands of documents seized Aug. 8 from the ex-president's Florida home in Mar-a-Lago after a judge's decision to appoint an independent arbitrator to do this, as Donald Trump's lawyers want.
The Justice Department argued Friday night that Judge Aileen Cannon
“made a fundamental error in appointing an independent expert”
and deciding this injunction, but limited her appeal to
“the hundred or so documents marked
'classified' .
recovered from Trump's property.
Delaying investigations into classified documents, which are government property according to the ministry,
"hinders the government's efforts to ensure the nation's security
," the justice ministry said.
"It also causes irreparable harm to the government by blocking critical steps in an ongoing criminal investigation and by unnecessarily forcing the disclosure of highly sensitive documents, including to plaintiff's attorneys,"
the department added.
The Supreme Court may have to decide
The appeal will be considered by a panel of three judges.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court may have to decide.
On August 8, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's residence in Florida, and seized boxes of confidential documents that the Republican had not returned after leaving the White House, despite multiple requests.
Federal investigators suspect the Republican of having thus violated an American law on espionage which very strictly regulates the possession of confidential documents.
Donald Trump assured that these documents had been declassified.
Donald Trump, who openly plans to run for president in 2024, has since stormed against a search that he considers
"illegal and unconstitutional"
and repeats that he was targeted for political reasons.
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