Sep. 22, 2022: Trump vs. James, appeals panel rejects Cannon ruling

The two big stories in Trump World:

1. In a Wednesday night ruling, a three-judge federal appeals panel sided with the Justice Department, blocking “aspects of … Judge Aileen Cannon's ruling that delayed a criminal investigation into highly sensitive documents seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate,” write Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein.

Two of the three judges were Trump appointees. Their decision was unanimous. And it was unsparing.

From the ruling: “Plaintiff suggests that he may have declassified these documents when he was President. But the record contains no evidence that any of these records were declassified. … In any event, at least for these purposes, the declassification argument is a red herring.” Read the 29-page decision

Meanwhile, here’s Trump on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Wednesday night: “If you’re president of the United States, you can declassify … even by thinking about it.” Video

2. New York AG Tish James filed suit against Trump and his three oldest children, alleging a yearslong campaign of deception and large-scale fraud. Her office is seeking to recover about $250 million that it says they netted from the scheme. The juiciest takeaways, via Josh and Kyle … The James-Trump backstory, by Erin Durkin … Forbes’ Dan Alexander: “Exclusive Recording, Documents Bolster Trump Fraud Lawsuit”

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