Justice Department formally appeals appointment of special master in Mar-a-Lago documents case

CNN) The Justice Department officially appealed the appointment of the special master, who is overseeing the review of documents seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, in a brief filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday.

The Justice Department centered their brief on sweeping criticism of lower court Judge Aileen Cannon's actions, arguing she had no authority to interfere with their federal criminal investigation. The Justice Department is asking the federal appeals court to invalidate Cannon's order and end the special master's review of documents.

"District courts have no general equitable authority to superintend federal criminal investigations," the brief said. "[I]nstead, challenges to the government's use of the evidence recovered in a search are resolved through ordinary criminal motions practice if and when charges are filed. Here, however, the district court granted the extraordinary relief Plaintiff sought...."