A federal judge in Florida on Thursday ordered the US justice department to publicly release a redacted version of its affidavit that underpinned the FBI’s August 8th search of former president Donald Trump’s home.
US magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the redacted document’s release by noon on Friday. His order came just hours after a justice department spokesman confirmed that prosecutors had submitted a sealed copy of its affidavit with proposed redactions to the judge.
Judge Reinhart this month approved the department’s warrant that preceded the FBI search of Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach. The affidavit is a sworn statement outlining the evidence that gave the department probable cause to seek a search warrant.
The FBI in its court-approved search at Mar-a-Lago carried away more than 20 boxes containing 11 sets of classified government records, some of which were labelled “top secret”.
After Mr Trump accused the FBI of political retribution against him, attorney general Merrick Garland made the unusual decision to confirm the existence of the department’s investigation and asked a court to unseal large portions of the search warrant and property receipt listing the seized items.
The department declined to release the affidavit, prompting media companies to file a legal challenge to get it unsealed.
At a hearing last week, prosecutors asked judge Reinhart not to release the document, saying it could harm their ongoing investigation and chill witness co-operation, as well as create security risks for FBI agents already facing heightened threats.
The judge has signalled he does not believe the entire document needs to be kept under wraps, and he asked the department to provide a copy with proposed redactions. Judge Reinhart at the hearing said prosecutors would be given the opportunity to appeal if they do not agree with his proposed version.
Mr Trump on social media called for the document to be unsealed, though his lawyers had not weighed in on the matter.
He has filed a separate civil case asking another judge to halt the FBI's review of the seized records pending the appointment of a special master to independently review them for materials that could be protected under executive privilege, a legal principle that lets a president shield some information.
US district judge Aileen Cannon has asked Mr Trump’s legal team to file a more targeted request by Friday that better explains what relief the former president is seeking and why his request should not be sent instead to judge Reinhart.
– Reuters
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