The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a petition from former President Trump, barring the special master from reviewing classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago.
Why it matters: The order is a major blow to Trump's efforts to get the high court to weigh in on the Justice Department proceeding with its investigation into the potential mishandling of classified material.
State of play: The DOJ had asked the high court to reject Trump's appeal earlier this week.
- "As this Court has emphasized, courts should be cautious before ‘insisting upon an examination’ of records whose disclosure would jeopardize national security ‘even by the judge alone, in chambers,'" DOJ wrote.
Catch up quick: Trump's legal team had asked SCOTUS to intervene in the dispute over the classified documents and overturn the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruling that allowed the DOJ to review around 100 documents as part of its investigation into the former president.
- Justice Clarence Thomas, who is assigned to oversee emergency requests in the 11th Circuit, had requested the DOJ to respond to Trump's petition by 5pm ET on Oct. 11. The agency met that deadline.
Of note: The Supreme Court's response came during the House Jan. 6 select committee's hearing Thursday, during which the panel highlighted evidence that Trump planned before the election to declare victory regardless of the actual results in November 2020.
Go deeper: Here's what we know and don't know about the Mar-a-Lago inquiry
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.
