Trump v. United States (2022)

This article is about the civil lawsuit seeking a special master. For the federal case dealing with presidential immunity, see Trump v. United States (2024). For the federal and state prosecutions, see Indictments against Donald Trump.

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Donald J. Trump v. United States of America (case no. 22-81294-CIV-CANNON), was a lawsuit filed on August 22, 2022, by former U.S. president Donald Trump in the Southern District of Florida. He sought the appointment of a special master to review materials seized on August 8, 2022, during the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, a part of the investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents.

Trump requested that the special master review the seized materials, some of which were classified, for potential attorney-client or executive privilege. The case was assigned to District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee. On September 1, Cannon ordered the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to release the previously sealed detailed property list of the seized materials. She ordered the DOJ to halt its review of all materials on September 5 and appointed Raymond J. Dearie, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, as special master on September 15.

On September 16, the DOJ appealed the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. On September 22, the appeals court granted the DOJ's request to restore investigators' access to the classified files that had been seized during the Mar-a-Lago search and block the special master from access to them.

On December 1, the appeals court ended the special master review entirely, allowed the government to use all the documents in its investigation, and directed the lower court to dismiss Trump's lawsuit. The court ruled that Cannon lacked equitable jurisdiction to appoint a special master, that Cannon's decision did not meet the stringent standard for the judicial branch to intervene in ongoing investigations by the executive branch, and that the court would not make a special exception for former presidents. Trump did not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Cannon dismissed the case on December 12, 2022, for lack of jurisdiction.

On July 15, 2024, as part of Donald Trump's trial for withholding classified documents after his departure from the White House Judge Aileen Cannon annuled the entire procedure, considering that the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegal.[1]

  1. ^ Lowell, Hugo (July 15, 2024). "Florida judge dismisses criminal classified documents case against Trump". The Guardian. Retrieved July 15, 2024.