Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The Justice Department on Friday appealed the appointment of a special master to review documents seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
In a brief filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department criticized the rulings of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon and argued that she had no authority to interfere with their criminal investigation.
"District courts have no general equitable authority to superintend federal criminal investigations," the brief reads.
"Instead, challenges to the government's use of the evidence recovered in a search are resolved through ordinary criminal motions practice if and when charges are filed."
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The Justice Department also argued that Trump had no basis to interfere with the review of executive branch documents by the Justice Department, which itself is part of the executive branch.
Last month, Cannon granted Trump's request for a special master and appointed U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie to review the documents in response to the ex-president's suggestion that the FBI planted evidence during its search of his Florida estate in August.
Cannon also rejected a request from the Justice Department to lift an injunction preventing investigators from reviewing about 100 documents marked classified until the review was completed.
While Cannon argued some of the documents seized "undisputedly constitute personal property and privileged materials," the 11th Circuit overturned her ruling a week later, allowing the Justice Department to proceed with its review.
The appeals court ruled that Cannon "erred" in including the classified records.
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Trump's request to have a special master review the more than 100 classified papers that were seized.
Trump's legal team still has until November 10 to file a response, and the 11th Circuit will not schedule oral arguments until after the department files a subsequent reply on November 17.
