Executive Branch

Trump Files Response to Justice Department Motion for Partial Stay of Cannon's Special Master Order

Hyemin Han
Monday, September 12, 2022, 4:56 PM

The Trump team objected to the government's motion for partial stay of Cannon's order, which had enjoined the government from using the materials seized at Mar-a-Lago for investigative purposes. 

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Former President Donald Trump objected to the government's motion for partial stay of U.S District Judge Aileen Cannon's order enjoining the government from using the materials seized at Mar-a-Lago for criminal investigative purposes. The government had argued in its motion that the injunction was not warranted given that Trump does not have a right to recover the seized documents and because any delay in its investigation into mishandling of national security matters would cause irreparable harm to the public. But Trump's response doubled down on assertions that Trump has broad declassification authorities and that a president has an "unfettered right to access Presidential records," while also dismissing the Justice Department's assertion that there is an "inextricable" link between the government's criminal investigation and the the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's review.

Trump's brief reiterated that review by a special master is necessary prior the government's use of the seized materials and said that Cannon's injunction is "a sensible preliminary step towards restoring order from chaos" in a matter that they deemed "in its core ... a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control."

You can read Trump's response here or below:


Hyemin Han is an associate editor of Lawfare and is based in Washington, D.C. Previously, she worked in eviction defense and has interned on Capitol Hill and with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She holds a BA in government from Dartmouth College, where she was editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth independent daily.

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