The Justice Department on Monday asked a judge to keep sealed the sworn affidavit underpinning last week’s FBI search of former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence, a document thought to hold key details about the government’s investigation into the potential mishandling of classified materials, Perry Stein reports.
Monday’s court filing was made in response to requests from multiple media outlets, including The Washington Post, seeking the affidavit’s public release.
As an explainer: Law enforcement officials submit affidavits to a judge as part of their application for a search warrant. The documents typically contain information addressing why authorities think there is evidence at a certain property and other details about an investigation, including sometimes the identities of witnesses.
The Justice Department argued that releasing the affidavit of the Mar-a-Lago search could hamper its investigation and potentially harm those involved.
The former president said before the judge’s decision to unseal the warrant and inventory list that he favored releasing those documents. He and his legal team have not publicly taken a stance on unsealing the affidavit specifically.
The Post, for its part, argued that releasing the affidavit is important because the public’s “clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred in these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing.”
Read more on the Justice Department’s filling here.
Monday’s court filing was made in response to requests from multiple media outlets, including The Washington Post, seeking the affidavit’s public release.
As an explainer: Law enforcement officials submit affidavits to a judge as part of their application for a search warrant. The documents typically contain information addressing why authorities think there is evidence at a certain property and other details about an investigation, including sometimes the identities of witnesses.
The Justice Department argued that releasing the affidavit of the Mar-a-Lago search could hamper its investigation and potentially harm those involved.
Remember: A judge on Friday agreed to unseal the court-approved search warrant and an inventory detailing the 11 sets of classified documents retrieved last week from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club and residence in Palm Beach, Fla. The documents also identify what federal laws officials suspect may have been violated.
The former president said before the judge’s decision to unseal the warrant and inventory list that he favored releasing those documents. He and his legal team have not publicly taken a stance on unsealing the affidavit specifically.
The Post, for its part, argued that releasing the affidavit is important because the public’s “clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred in these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing.”
Read more on the Justice Department’s filling here.
