US Judge Dismisses Trump Lawsuit Challenging Mar-a-Lago Documents Search for 'Lack of Jurisdiction'

A US judge has thrown a legal challenge brought by former US President Donald Trump, which challenged the FBI's search of his Mar-a-Lago estate a part of a probe into missing classified documents dating to the time of his administration.

In a brief ruling on Monday, US District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon, of the Southern District of Florida, said Trump's case was being dismissed due to "lack of jurisdiction."

The suit was an attempt to block the US Department of Justice's investigation of documents taken by Trump when he left office in January 2021, including hundreds of classified files. Since the start of the year, thousands of files have been discovered at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate and resort in southern Florida, and either voluntarily returned to the US National Archives or forcibly seized by the FBI in an August raid.

The search warrant for that raid was justified in part by concerns about violations of the 1917 Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, and other federal laws against the improper handling of documents. However, no charges have been brought against the former president.

Last week, a federal appeals court struck down an order by Judge Cannon that created a "special master" for the seized documents, or outside arbiter tasked with ensuring prosecutors don't view overly sensitive files, such as those protected by attorney-client privilege or Executive Privilege. Trump had requested the special master, but the DOJ opposed it, arguing it would frustrate their probe and that no special master was necessary.

Trump has called the raid and investigations a "witch hunt" and said he declassified all the files before removing them. Last month, Trump announced his campaign to return to the presidency in 2024, although he is no longer the most popular potential GOP contender.