A Florida federal judge ordered the release of a partially redacted version of the underlying affidavit that led to the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Thursday.
While the warrant authorizing the raid was already released, as reported by The Dallas Express, the FBI’s argument and probable cause justifying the request remained sealed.
Media organizations such as ABC, the Associated Press, and The New York Times have pressed the court, headed by Judge Bruce Reinhart, to release the additional documents.
However, the Department of Justice asked the court to keep the affidavit sealed, claiming, “Disclosure at this juncture of the affidavit supporting probable cause would, by contrast, cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation.”
Judge Bruce Reinhart explained, “As I ruled from the bench at the conclusion of the hearing, I find that on the present record the Government has not met its burden of showing that the entire affidavit should remain sealed.”
Reinhart gave the federal government until noon next Thursday, August 25, to submit “its proposed redactions along with a legal memorandum setting forth the justification.”
At the same time, Judge Reinhart unsealed the warrant’s original application and accompanying documents.
That application for the warrant showed that the underlying affidavit alleged that former President Trump was potentially involved in the “Willful retention of national defense information,” the “Concealment or removal of government records,” and the “Obstruction of federal investigation.”
The original sealing motion submitted by U.S. Attorney Juan Gonzalez asked the court to “seal this Motion, the Search Warrant, and all its accompanying documents,” claiming that “there is good cause because the integrity of the ongoing investigation might be compromised, and evidence might be destroyed.”
Tom Fitton, the president of the watchdog organization Judicial Watch, applauded the judge’s order, stating, “The court outright rejected the Justice Department’s brazen play to keep the whole document secret.”
Judicial Watch, joined by several media organizations like The New York Times, filed for the release of the warrant and supporting documentation earlier this month.
Once the DOJ submits its proposed redactions, Judge Reinhart will review them and either agree to release the redacted affidavit as submitted or request specific changes.
After the release of the redacted copy, the various groups demanding its release can sue to unveil certain redactions.
As reported by The Dallas Express, questions remain surrounding the raid and whether it was driven primarily by partisanship or legitimate concerns about criminal conduct. The release of the underlying affidavit could answer some of those questions but could also raise more depending on how heavily the DOJ redact it.