Supreme Court rejects Trump’s request to intervene in Mar-a-Lago legal battle

Justices deny demand that special master should be allowed to review 100 documents

The Supreme Court has rejected Donald Trump’s emergency request to intervene in the former president’s Mar-a-Lago legal battle over classified documents.

The justices, three of whom were appointed by Mr Trump, denied his request that a special master should be allowed to review particular classified papers taken from his Florida home by federal agents in August.

There were no noted dissents in the unsigned order that was released by the country’s highest court on Thursday. It would have taken at least five justices agreeing to take up the case.

“The application to vacate the stay entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on September 21, 2022, presented to Justice (Clarence) Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied,” the court stated.

The case was referred by Justice Thomas as he has oversight on emergency appeals from the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The court’s ruling was handed down at almost exactly the same time as the House committee investigating the 6 January, 2021 coup attempt announced it would subpoena Mr Trump, requiring him to give evidence.

Mr Trump’s request to the court came after an interim ruling by the 11th Circuit in favour of the Justice Department that exempted around 100 documents from review by the special master.

The one-term president wanted the special master, who is a neutral party in the case, to have access to those documents, which were among 11,000 removed from his home in Palm Beach.

But lawyers for the Justice Department had argued in a filing earlier this week that Mr Trump had no claim on the documents.

The legal fight over the documents, which were seized by the FBI during the 8 August search, comes after US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Mr Trump, authorised the special master to review the documents and decide if any can be withheld from the Justice Department.

Judge Cannon has given the job of special master to Brooklyn-based US District Judge Raymond Dearie.

Mr Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett to the court and has previously lost a challenge in a case related to documents for the House January 6 select committee.