A federal magistrate judge formally rejected the Justice Department’s bid to keep the affidavit leading to the FBI raid of Trump’s personal residence at Mar-a-Lago completely sealed, noting the “unprecedented” nature of the search and the “intense public and historical interest.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off on the initial search warrant for the raid, issued a 13-page ruling on Monday morning finding the DOJ had not provided a strong enough argument for “keeping the entire Affidavit under seal.”
“The Government argues that even requiring it to redact portions of the Affidavit that could not reveal agent identities or investigative sources and methods imposes an undue burden on its resources and sets a precedent that could be disruptive and burdensome in future cases,” Reinhart wrote. “I do not need to reach the question of whether, in some other case, these concerns could justify denying public access; they very well might.”
Reinhart added that he “cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the Government.”
The judge’s order comes as a group of major news organizations sought to make the affidavit public. Trump posted on Truth Social last week calling for “the immediate release of the completely Unredacted Affidavit.” His lawyers have not pursued the issue in court, however.
Reinhart heard arguments in court on Thursday and gave DOJ officials until Thursday, August 25, at noon Eastern time to submit proposed redactions.
Jay Bratt, the department’s top counterintelligence official, argued that releasing the full affidavit would “provide a roadmap to the investigation” and allow “amateur sleuths on the internet” to identify key witnesses.
“This is a volatile situation with respect to this search across the political spectrum — but on one side in particular,” Bratt said. “The government is very concerned about the safety of the witnesses in these cases and the impact of all the attention on these witnesses on other witnesses.”
A federal judge unsealed the search warrant for Trump’s residence, as well as other related documents on August 12 after the DOJ filed a motion in the Southern District of Florida to unseal the search warrant “in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter.”
Law enforcement is investigating former president Donald Trump for removal or destruction of records, obstruction of an investigation, and violating the Espionage Act, according to the search warrant.
Meanwhile, a list of items removed from the property shows the FBI recovered eleven sets of classified documents during the search, including some top-secret documents that should only have been available in special government facilities.
The affidavit would provide a more comprehensive insight into the government’s decision to search Mar-a-Lago and would reveal information about the DOJ’s investigational interviews as well as what officials believed was located at the residence and why they believed crimes may have been committed, according to the Washington Post.