Federal appeals court halted a special master review of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents|Gage Skidmore|CC BY-SA 2.0

In a significant blow to the former president, a US appeals court on Thursday denied a third-party review of the documents retrieved from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

The ruling against the appointment of a special master implies that the Justice Department can now continue its investigation with complete access to the records.