On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously denied a petition by former President Donald Trump to intervene in the case of documents seized by the FBI during a search at his Mar-a-Lago estate in August.
“The application to vacate the stay entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Sept. 21, 2022, presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the court is denied,” the ruling read.
The matter will now be decided by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will determine what – if any – documents should be examined by a special master.
The Department of Justice believes Trump still has documents he took from the White House, even after the FBI raid in August.
DOJ’s top counterintelligence official, Jay Bratt, communicated that concern to Trump lawyers.
It’s still not clear if the department has evidence to support that concern. Sources also did not confirm if the DOJ is planning any legal action, such as another search to retrieve classified material allegedly held by Trump.
After the FBI raid, investigators pointed out they found empty folders with classified marks, suggesting the files were moved from their original folders.
The National Archives recently said that some of the files that should have been turned over by Trump officials by the end of his administration are still missing.
