- A federal judge officially dismissed the special master reviewing documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
- The judge, Aileen Cannon, dismissed the case over "lack of jurisdiction."
- Cannon, 41, was a Trump nominee.
A US federal judge who appointed the special master for former President Donald Trump just tossed his lawsuit against the FBI's raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in a Monday one-page order that she was dismissing the case because of a "lack of jurisdiction."
A three-judge federal appeals court on December 2 wrote a scathing decision overturning Cannon's initial decision to side with Trump and grant him a special master to review documents taken in the FBI's search.
Cannon's ruling on Monday officially dismisses the special master, an outside arbiter who had been tasked with reviewing all the documents that were recovered at Mar-a-Lago, including 11,000 general records and 100 documents marked as classified, with the goal of determining whether any of the documents are protected by attorney-client or executive privilege.
The higher court's ruling was a victory for the Justice Department, which had appealed Cannon's decision and argued that the special master would slow down the investigation amid national security concerns and cause "irreparable harm" to the government and public.
During a search of Mar-a-Lago on August 8, the FBI seized boxes of materials, some highly classified, according to court records. The Justice Department is investigating potential violations of laws related to handling government documents.
Trump has without evidence accused the FBI of planting materials at his home, and the special master, Senior Judge Raymond Dearie, said Trump's team must provide evidence to support their claims.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced in November that special prosecutor Jack Smith would oversee criminal investigations into Trump, given that the former president has formally announced he would seek another White House run.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.