Trump affidavit to be unsealed
A judge yesterday ordered the Justice Department to make public a redacted version of the affidavit it relied on when federal agents searched the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump to look for classified documents.
The documents were due to be released overnight NZ time, after Judge Bruce Reinhart set a deadline of noon Friday US time for a redacted, or blacked-out, version of the document.
The order means the public could learn additional details about what led FBI officials to search Mar-a-Lago on August 8 as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Documents already made public show the FBI retrieved from the property 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level.
Search warrant affidavits typically contain vital information about an investigation, with agents spelling out to a judge the justification for why they want to search a particular property and why they believe they’re likely to find evidence of a potential crime there. But affidavits routinely remain sealed during the course of pending investigations, making the judge’s decision to reveal portions of it in this investigation all the more striking.
The redactions proposed by the Justice Department are likely to be extensive given the sensitivity of the investigation, lessening the likelihood that the document will offer a comprehensive look at the basis for the unprecedented search or significant insights about the direction of the probe. Yet even a redacted affidavit can contain at least some fresh revelations about the investigation, which brings fresh legal peril just as Trump lays the groundwork for another presidential run in 2024.
Federal agents are investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, according to documents already made public.