US govt appeals ruling that prevents review of classified Trump documents

Washington, Sep 16 (EFE).- The US Justice Department Friday challenged a Florida court’s decision to deny federal prosecutors access to classified materials seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

The department headed by Merrick Garland filed the appeal with the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, asking it to stop part of District Judge Aileen Cannon’s Thursday ruling.

Judge Cannon ruled that the justice department cannot continue to review and investigate the material seized from Trump.

She rejected a contention that the records the federal criminal investigators seek to review are highly classified or contain highly-sensitive defense information, putting national security at risk.

Cannon appointed Raymond Dearie, a senior federal judge in New York, to lead an independent review of the seized documents.

She gave Dearie the Nov.30 deadline to finish his document review.

Cannon’s ruling dealt another setback to federal prosecutors.

“The court’s order hamstrings (the) investigation and places the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) under a Damoclean threat of contempt should the court later disagree with how investigators disaggregated their previously integrated criminal-investigative and national-security activities,” the department said. EFE

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