Former US President Donald Trump suffered a legal defeat in the legal dispute surrounding the investigation into his handling of secret government documents. An appeals court ruled in a decision published yesterday (local time) that it was unlawful to appoint a special representative at Trump’s request to review documents seized during a search of the ex-president’s private home.
The district court that ruled on the special counsel’s appointment did not have the authority to prohibit the state from using lawfully seized documents in criminal investigations, it said. This is a win for the US Department of Justice, which has been investigating Trump for several months.
The federal police FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, in August and confiscated various classified information, some with the highest classification level. By keeping the documents in his private home long after Trump left office, he could have committed a criminal offense. It is still unclear whether Trump could ultimately be charged.