Appeals Court Stops Special Master Review of Documents Seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Estate

Security officers guard the entrance to the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building & Courthouse as the court holds a hearing to determine if the affidavit used by the FBI as justification for the search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate should be unsealed, at the U.S. District Courthouse for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2022. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

A federal appeals court on Thursday has put a stop to a special master’s external review of the thousands of documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

The ruling comes after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit heard from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Trump’s lawyers on Nov. 22 regarding the government’s motion to remove U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie as special master.