In a Thursday court filing, the Department of Justice said it plans to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to appoint a special master to review documents seized by the FBI during the August raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.
This revelation surprised no one. What did surprise us, however, was the wording in the DOJ’s filing that leaves us wondering if a second raid on Mar-a-Lago — or some other action — may be in the cards.
The DOJ’s motion for a partial stay pending appeal stated that “the government and the public are irreparably injured when a criminal investigation of matters involving risks to national security is enjoined.”
Cannon’s ruling sought to prohibit the DOJ from reviewing or taking any other further action with the documents an FBI team removed from Trump’s home.
The agency argued that the injunction could “impede efforts to identify the existence of any additional classified records that are not being properly stored — which itself presents the potential for ongoing risk to national security.”
Is the DOJ setting the stage for a second raid? It sounds like the DOJ wants to make sure it retains the ability to execute another Trump raid based on “suspicions” he could have more classified material.
The filing includes no evidence for this. It simply implies that its efforts to further identify the possibility are being impeded. If it were granted the ability, it seems like DOJ would want to “investigate” this possibility — and that could mean another raid.
In the original action, 30 FBI agents armed with a broadly defined search warrant scoured Trump’s home for over nine hours on Aug. 8. They ransacked former first lady Melania Trump’s closet searching for documents. And last weekend, we learned they’d even scoured the room of Trump’s 16-year-old son, Barron Trump. Do they expect us to believe they might have missed additional classified material?
What are they so afraid of?
Do you think that another Trump raid is on the table?
First, DOJ officials are clearly angry over Cannon’s decision to appoint a special master to review the documents, which they see as a direct rebuke to the agency’s integrity. After all, the DOJ has “taint teams,” internal prosecutors, who have no involvement in the case at hand, available to review privileged/classified documents with objectivity.
But they appear especially angry over the judge’s enjoinment of the documents. This rather ties their hands in the crucial two-month period leading up to the midterm elections, just when the information could help sway votes, doesn’t it?
Although prosecutors can still leak information to the press, as they’ve been doing since the raid, the documents can’t be presented as evidence in, say, a primetime proceeding of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.
In other words, the DOJ and the FBI will have to figure out a different way to sway the election.
Not all legal scholars oppose the appointment of a special master. George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley considers it the right decision. He has been highly critical of the DOJ’s actions and, especially the leaks to the media since the raid.
The court has appointed a special master to review the material from the Mar-a-Lago raid. https://t.co/Mccm9CjcsZ It was the right decision. Unfortunately, Merrick Garland had to be forced again into this modest but important step to reassure the public. https://t.co/XAiASCXwIA
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 5, 2022
Liberals are delighted by the DOJ’s decision to appeal Cannon’s ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. But with seven Republicans and four Democrats, and one vacancy, they may not get the result they hope for. That could mean an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is comprised of 7 Republican (4 are TRump appointees) & 4 Democrats. Do YOU think that they will overturn MAGA Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to grant TRaitor TRump a “Master”? If they don’t, then DOJ’s next appeal heads to TRump’s SCOTUS picks. pic.twitter.com/5Et6iwRAFJ
— ☮️☮️☮️ Dr. Mike Davis ??? (@FrankMikeDavis1) September 9, 2022
This needless and unprecedented episode has highlighted the Democratic Party’s increasing weaponization of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies against their political opponents.
The next Republican administration will have to perform a thorough housecleaning of all of these agencies to restore the fundamental right of all U.S. citizens to equality under the law.
