Donald Trump (76) could not demonstrate in the urgent application that he would suffer irreparable damage, the Justice Department argued in a response requested by the court on Tuesday. Trump’s lawyers last week asked the Supreme Court that a special accountant should have access to the classified documents.
The Supreme Court then asked the Justice Department to respond to Trump’s request. A decision could now be made in the coming days.
In early August, the FBI of the federal police searched Trump’s villa in the US state of Florida. The FBI seized several classified documents, some with the highest level of secrecy. Among the thousands of documents, about 100 had been marked as secret, according to the FBI.
Trump can be prosecuted
Keeping the documents in his private home after he left would have allowed Trump to prosecute himself. The result was legal wrangling by the authorities.
Trump’s team was finally able to achieve success with the appointment of a neutral examiner. However, an appeals court had denied the special accountant access to the classified documents.
Trump’s attorneys claim the 76-year-old had unrestricted authority to release documents while he was president. Therefore, markings alone cannot determine whether a document is still classified or whether Trump has released it. That is why the special investigator must be granted access.
The decision now rests with the Supreme Court.
(SDA)