US appeals court denies Trump 'special master' request in documents case

A US appeals tribunal has ended a "special master" reappraisal of documents seized from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

The ruling is simply a triumph for the US Department of Justice, which is probing if Mr Trump took classified documents with him erstwhile helium near the White House.

The "special master" is an autarkic lawyer who decides if immoderate of the records are covered nether attorney-client oregon enforcement privilege.

Investigators tin present reappraisal the documents successful full.

The ruling was made connected Thursday by a three-judge sheet successful the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Us Courts of Appeal, aft the Department of Justice challenged a September determination that granted Mr Trump's petition for the peculiar maestro review.

In its ruling, the appeals tribunal wrote that determination is nary "judiciary licence to interfere successful an ongoing investigation".

"The instrumentality is clear. We cannot constitute a regularisation that allows immoderate taxable of a hunt warrant to artifact authorities investigations aft the execution of the warrant. Nor tin we constitute a regularisation that allows lone erstwhile presidents to bash so," the tribunal wrote.

A peculiar maestro reappraisal would person delayed the Department of Justice's enquiry into Mr Trump's handling of classified documents, arsenic the authorities was banned from reviewing oregon utilizing the materials until it was complete.

Raymond Dearie, a 78-year-old New York justice who was archetypal nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan successful 1986 was assigned arsenic the peculiar maestro with his case.

It is unclear if Mr Trump and his lawyers volition entreaty Thursday's ruling.

Mr Trump is being investigated for allegedly taking nationalist classified documents with him to his backstage Florida location successful Mar-a-Lago aft helium near the White House.

The authorities accidental these documents should person been handed implicit to the National Archives - arsenic required of US presidents upon leaving office.

The FBI seized 15 boxes of White House documents successful January, which officials said contained "highly classified reports", immoderate of which were "intermixed with different records" and contained Mr Trump's "handwritten notes". They besides seized different 20 boxes successful August.

In total, the Department of Justice alleged that 11 sets of classified documents were taken from the White House by Mr Trump.

The erstwhile president has denied immoderate wrongdoing, and argued that helium had declassified each the documents arsenic president and that they were kept securely astatine his Mar-a-Lago home.

When requesting a peculiar master, Mr Trump's lawyers argued immoderate of the documents are covered by attorney-client privilege - meaning they tin beryllium withheld nether a US instrumentality that allows radical to support conversations with their lawyers private.