Judge Set To Release Part Of Trump Search Affidavit

Topline

A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to send him a redacted version of the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate, and he seemed to be leaning toward releasing at least parts of it despite prosecutors’ objections that it contains sensitive information that would compromise their investigation, according to multiple reports.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Road to Majority conference on June 17, 2022, in … [+] Nashville.

Mark Humphrey, File/AP

Key Facts

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart gave the DOJ a deadline of noon next Thursday to submit a redacted affidavit for unsealing.

Trump’s legal team supports the release of the affidavit, which contains witness testimony prosecutors used to obtain the search warrant.

Multiple media outlets have asked the court to release the affidavit, citing substantial public interest and historical significance, but the DOJ argued that releasing it “would serve as a road map to the government’s ongoing investigation.”

The DOJ has not indicated if it plans to appeal Reinhart’s order that it prepare a redacted version of the affidavit.

Key Background

FBI agents scoured Mar-A-Lago for much of the day on August 8, breaking into Trump’s personal safe to seize documents. The court last week unsealed the search warrant and property receipt related to the raid. The records revealed 11 boxes of documents, including some marked “top secret,” were taken from Mar-A-Lago as part of a probe into a potential violation of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. Trump slammed the raid as an unnecessary “break-in,” claiming that his “attorneys and representatives were cooperating fully” with the investigation.

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