Appeals court lifts hold that prevented Justice Department from using classified documents in Mar-a-Lago probe

A federal appeals court on Wednesday said the Justice Department can resume using classified documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate in its criminal investigation.

The Justice Department had appealed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon this month that temporarily barred it from reviewing and using the seized materials for investigative purposes.

The Justice Department had argued that Cannon’s order disrupted the intelligence community’s ability to look over national security risks posed by the documents being improperly stored.

Cannon last week said she wasn’t prepared to accept all of the department’s assertions at face value without the special master review process.