George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Monday that former President Donald Trump's potential $100 million lawsuit against the Justice Department over the Mar-a-Lago documents search will be “hard to win.”
Trump's lawyers on Monday filed an administrative lawsuit with the Department of Justice over the Aug. 8, 2022, Mar-a-Lago attack and the subsequent indictment obtained by Special Counsel Jack Smith on Monday. This is a preliminary step before actually filing a lawsuit, and it accuses the FBI and the Department of Justice of conducting “a malicious political prosecution aimed at influencing the outcome of the election in order to prevent former President Trump's reelection,” the New York Post reported. ReportedTurley noted that the Justice Department, like President Trump, has “unique immunity” that could come into play if Trump's lawyers actually file a lawsuit. (RELATED: 'Trump's victory': Jonathan Turley says Supreme Court immunity decision is a blow to Jack Smith)
“Well, in this type of case, I think he's going to get more political support than legal support. The odds are long,” Turley said. “It's a very hard type of case to win against the Department of Justice. Ironically, the Department of Justice has been given its own immunity when it comes to discretionary powers.”
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“Now, to get around that, the Trump campaign is saying that the Supreme Court has established that this is unconstitutional, that there are privileges and protections, that this should not have gone ahead,” Turley continued. “The extent to which the president has protections is an issue that will be addressed on appeal. The Supreme Court itself has said that it has not ruled on at least presidential immunity before. So this is the kind of area that courts don't like to get involved in. So the odds are slim for the Trump campaign in this case. What they may get is discovery, but it goes both ways. The Department of Justice will get discovery for the Trump campaign.”
In July, U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida dismissed the charges against Trump in the classified documents case, ruling that Smith had been illegally appointed as special counsel. Judge Cannon had previously ordered the appointment of a special master to review documents seized during the Mar-a-Lago raid, but that decision was later overturned on appeal by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The Supreme Court has said personal conduct is not protected, but it also says official business performed for personal reasons is not protected. It's kind of a gray area,” Turley said. “The Supreme Court has set out these three cases and the courts have to decide where this falls. The Florida court has dismissed this case, but the Trump campaign's arguments are not frivolous.” (RELATED: Liberal lawyer Anderson Cooper suggests Trump docs judge 'afraid' he didn't give in to Jack Smith)
Turley said even if Trump had cooperated with the FBI's requests before the investigation, that may not have been enough evidence.
“The case should favor the Department of Justice,” Turley said.
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