Dhe legal battle over the classified information seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s mansion moves into the next round. An Atlanta appeals court on Wednesday overruled portions of a South Florida federal judge’s decision, allowing the Justice Department in Washington to reopen its investigation. It does not have to suspend the criminal investigation against Trump until a special expert appointed by the judge has clarified after reviewing the files whether the agency violated attorney-client privilege or violated executive privilege.
The Court of Appeals found it agreed with the Justice Department’s view that Judge Aileen Cannon erred in ordering investigators to halt the investigation and turn over some 100 classified documents, including those of the highest classification, to the investigator. The Atlanta Court of Appeals consists of three judges; two of them were nominated by Trump. Evaluator Raymond Dearie, meanwhile, is asking Trump’s attorneys to prove their client released the files, as he claims. Otherwise, he tends to consider documents with the appropriate markings as classified information.
Shortly before the appeals court decision became known, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a major fraud lawsuit against Trump, his three children Donald Junior, Eric and Ivanka, and his company, among others. They are said to have manipulated the value of the “Trump Organization” for years, increasing or decreasing their finances as needed in order to obtain loans more easily or pay less taxes.
With the lawsuit, she wants to achieve, among other things, that the Trumps have to pay $ 250 million as compensation. She also wants to prevent Trump or his children from ever again being allowed to hold a position on the executive or supervisory boards of companies in New York. They should also be banned from taking out loans or buying real estate in the next five years. Trump’s company denied the allegations.
