trump has no property interest in the documents at issue in judge cannon's ruling whether they is classified or not, so a demand for the return o' such documents and a request for special master review o' such by means o' a civil 41(g) motion by trump lawyers is nonsensical. the doj makes the point we see as dispositive but that media lawyers keep glossing over in their five-minute takes on cnn and msnbc.
again, so is clear, trump is demanding that his property, which were improper seized by the feds, should be returned to him 'cause o' special harms he suffers by being deprived o' his property PRE-indictment. if bob is being investigated for illegal ivory smuggling, and during a search o' bob's property the fed's seize his personal automobiles, even though is nothing in the warrant which suggests evidence would or could be found in his car, nor any suggestion bob were using his car to transport ivory, then bob could petition by means o' a 41(g) for the return o' his car(s) particular if those vehicles is his only means o' transportation.
should be obvious the sensitive documents seized during the warrant search o' mar-a-lago is so not like the bob scenario. judge cannon don't suggest the documents were improper seized. furthermore, trump hasn't explained how the government intelligence documents is in fact his property, 'cause that would be silly. also, it takes extreme imagination to concoct a special harm trump suffers by being deprived o' US government state secrets. the fact the feds might use the documents to build a criminal case against trump is so utter not the kinda special harm a 41(g) motion seeks to cure.
this whole exercise is mind-blowing stoopid.
now for an eventual prosecution o' trump for action and inaction related to the espionage act or some other code violation for mishandling and obstruction related to state secrets and sensitive intelligence, the issue o' if and when trump declassified documents may be relevant, but for the current 41(g) pre indictment kerfuffle, is red herring material.
am genuine dismayed by the level o' stoopid being indulged for no reason other than the fact trump is an ex-President.
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am not liking to do this, but our only reasonable explanation for judge cannon's ruling is that she has future aspirations which would be undermined if she delivered a ruling unfavorable to trump. IF cannon is seeing herself as an appellate judge in the future, the only way that happens is if a future republican President offers her the job. rule against trump almost guarantees her name is not gonna be on any near-future republican Presidential short-lists for appellate, scotus, ag appointments. and yes, perhaps from cannon's pov the special master is a minor inconvenience for the doj, so no biggie. the thing is, even if cannon were correct and that the doj is overstating the intelligence concerns related to the seized documents, there is no legal justification for her ruling.
HA! Good Fun!