DOJ Unseals Mar-A-Lago Affidavit As Ex-President Pleads For ‘Special Master’

Topline

The legal tussle over the FBI’s investigation into whether former President Donald Trump violated federal law by keeping White House documents at Mar-A-Lago continued this week, as the ex-president went to court in a new effort to stop the DOJ from reviewing some documents and the federal government was ordered in court to be more transparent about its probe.

Key Facts

The Justice Department unsealed the affidavit it used to justify its search on Mar-A-Lago on Friday, showing that it believed there was probable cause to suggest government documents were being kept at the estate even after Trump gave some documents back—including classified materials that were being stored in unauthorized locations—as well as evidence of obstruction.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhardt ordered the federal government on Thursday to release the unsealed document after they submitted proposed redactions to it, in response to requests from media outlets and the conservative Judicial Watch to make the documents public.

Trump’s attorneys didn’t weigh in on whether or not the affidavit should be unsealed, but the ex-president separately went to court on Monday to ask for a third-party “special master” to be appointed in the DOJ’s review of the materials it seized from Mar-A-Lago to separate out any privileged materials.

That court motion, which was made to a different judge than Reinhardt, has been widely criticized as insufficient by legal experts, and Trump’s attorneys were ordered to file a separate motion that better clarified their legal justification for filing the motion with a different judge and what relief they’re actually seeking from the court.

A separate investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia is also still playing out in Fulton County, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been in a legal battle fighting his subpoena to testify before a grand jury in the probe after he called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked about whether ballots could be thrown out.

An appeals court blocked Graham’s testimony—at least for now—on Sunday and sent the case back to a lower court, which will now consider whether there are some questions that Graham can be exempted from answering given his status as a sitting lawmaker.

Mar-A-Lago Documents

In addition to the ongoing court battles, multiple reports this week uncovered more information about the ex-president’s reported refusal to give documents back to the federal government, including classified information. The New York Times and Washington Post report Trump himself personally viewed the White House materials—which, the Times reports, likely contain more than 300 classified documents in total—before sending 15 boxes off to the National Archives earlier this year, which the Post reports the ex-president did “with great secrecy.” CNN reports Trump is being counseled by conservative activist Tom Fitten, who leads the organization Judicial Watch, that he shouldn’t have given the documents to the National Archives in the first place and they “belonged to Trump.” The ex-president has “[become] increasingly convinced that he should have full control over records,” CNN reports, despite the Presidential Records Act requiring those documents to be turned over to the Archives. A letter was also made public this week from May sent from the National Archives to Trump’s attorneys, which said the government was giving the FBI access to the documents after previously delaying at the Trump team’s request. The letter argued that Trump could not claim executive privilege to try and keep the documents from being reviewed.

Georgia Investigation

Court filings reported Thursday show Fulton County DA Fani Willis is seeking testimony from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and far-right attorney Sidney Powell as part of her office’s probe, along with Trump ally Phil Waldron. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) also went to court on Thursday to object to testifying in the probe, and a court filing from Willis’ office this week suggested prosecutors are looking into what political pressure the governor—who resisted Trump’s calls to overturn the results—faced following the election. The filing also suggested that Willis’ investigation is unlikely to wrap up before the November midterm elections, Georgia Public Broadcasting pointed out.

January 6

The DOJ is also probing Trump and his allies’ efforts following the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol building. After having his cell phone seized earlier this month by federal investigators, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Penn.), who allegedly aided Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, is now sparring over getting his cell phone data back. The congressman filed a lawsuit that was made public this week asking a judge to order the DOJ to return his cell phone data so he can personally review it and determine what information is privileged, but then filed an updated motion saying he’s in discussions with the DOJ himself to try and resolve the issue out of court. Beyond the DOJ probe, Trump’s attorneys appealed three lawsuits on Friday brought against the ex-president from Capitol police officers that hold him liable for the January 6 attack, after a federal district judge denied motions to dismiss the cases and rejected the argument that Trump was shielded by presidential immunity.

Further Reading

DOJ Releases Redacted Mar-A-Lago Search Affidavit — Here’s What It Says (Forbes)

Trump Asks Judge To Appoint ‘Special Master’ To Review Seized Mar-A-Lago Records (Forbes)

Mark Meadows Pushed To Testify In Georgia Voter Fraud Probe (Forbes)

FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search followed months of resistance, delay by Trump (Washington Post)

Trump Had More Than 300 Classified Documents at Mar-a-Lago (New York Times)

Inside Trump’s public bravado and private resistance over Mar-a-Lago documents (CNN)