The appeals court basically wrote a 29 page opinion stating the Federal judge that order the special magistrate is an idiot.
-And that classified documents are
the governments property.
-And even if classified documents are declassified, still
the governments property.
-And there is no authority or privileges given to a former President for any of this.
-Of course the government has a strong interest to control and investigate the handling of classified documents cause duh (the appeals court used the phrase “self-evident”)
There was never a Constitutional issue or Federal law interpretation at stake. The Federal judge Trump selected (because they are a partisan hack) had no basis in the law to rule the way she did.
The DOJ could have gotten the whole special maester thing thrown out but narrowly tailored it to the US government docs. In fact, the special maester plays into the governments hand. Trumps legal team and resources will be tied down to arguing over the remaining documents while the rest of the investigation proceeds.
How does the government take on a billionaire? War on all fronts. Trump is battling the State of New York, state of Georgia, and the DOJ.