'What are we doing here?' Judge scolds Trump attorney for failing to prove search was unlawful
Chief Judge William Pryor grilled Trump attorney James Trusty on Tuesday after the former president's legal team failed to prove that the U.S. government had illegally searched Mar-a-Lago.
At a hearing before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Pryor interrupted Trusty when he suggested that the hearing was part of a "process."
"It seems to me the entire premise of the exercise of this extraordinary kind of jurisdiction would be that the seizure itself is unlawful," Pryor explained. "And if you can't establish that, what are we doing here?"
"We are in the process of establishing that, your honor," Trusty replied.
"So you're saying that the end object here is to establish that it was an unlawful seizure?" Pryor pressed.
Trusty claimed to have "good evidence" of unlawful seizure because a "general warrant" was used.
"But you didn't establish a general warrant," Pryor noted.
Judge Britt Grant pointed out that the Trump team had initially sought to argue the case differently.
"Even the purpose that you all have articulated, you've asked for a special master to review the documents for privilege," Grant said. "That doesn't sound like an attempt to demonstrate that the seizure was unlawful."
The government has asked the court to remove a special master that was put in place to oversee the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. Two of the judges on the panel have previously ruled against Trump.
Listen to the arguments below. You may also watch at this link.
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