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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Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.