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Appeals Court Allows DOJ to Regain Access to Classified Documents Seized From Mar-a-Lago

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A federal appeals court on Wednesday granted the Department of Justice (DOJ) permission to regain access to around 100 documents marked classified seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last month.
Judges Robin Rosenbaum, Britt Grant, and Andrew Brasher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously agreed the lower court “likely erred” in its order, which blocked the U.S. government’s use of the documents marked classified in its criminal investigation and required a special master to review the documents.
The judges also said there’s “no evidence” that’s been presented that Trump declassified the documents when they were removed from the Oval Office, which Trump has said he did.
The government is trying to shield the documents marked classified from Trump’s lawyers, who say they “absolutely” need to see them to address issues surrounding Trump’s lawsuit against the government. Over 11,000 non-classified documents were also seized from Mar-a-Lago in the raid.
In a 29-page ruling, the judges determined that none of the “roughly one-hundred classified documents at issue” fall under Trump’s claim of having “individual interest” in them or need for their return.
“And the district court made no mention in its analysis of this factor as to why or how [Trump] might have an individual interest in or need for the classified documents,” the judges wrote.
“For our part, we cannot discern why [Trump] would have an individual interest in or need for any of the one-hundred documents with classification markings.”
The judges explained that any classified documents are “owned by, produced by or for,” or are “under the control” of the U.

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