A redacted version of the affidavit supporting the request to search former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and club was released in a federal courthouse in Florida, potentially shedding new light on the high-profile investigation into the possible mishandling of classified documents.
Federal Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart, who approved the warrant for the search, granted a request from news organizations to unseal the affidavit but allowed the Justice Department to propose redactions of information that government officials said could jeopardize the probe or the safety of witnesses.
Reinhart accepted those redactions Thursday afternoon and ordered the Justice Department to unseal the document by noon Friday.
Archives asked for records after Trump lawyer agreed they should be returned, email says
The affidavit likely contains key information about the investigation into classified documents that were kept at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office, including why FBI agents suspect crimes may have been committed. On Aug. 8, FBI agents searched the estate in Palm Beach and carted away about 20 boxes from a bedroom, office and a first-floor storage room. Authorities have said some of the seized documents included highly classified national secrets.
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The warrant authorizing the search said agents were seeking all “physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation of three potential crimes,” including a part of the Espionage Act outlawing gathering, transmitting, or losing national defense information. The warrant also cites destruction of records and concealment or mutilation of government material.
Emails, documents and interviews show that the search followed months of conflict between the former president and law enforcement agencies about getting the documents — which are protected under the Presidential Records Act — into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Federal Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart, who approved the warrant for the search, granted a request from news organizations to unseal the affidavit but allowed the Justice Department to propose redactions of information that government officials said could jeopardize the probe or the safety of witnesses.
Reinhart accepted those redactions Thursday afternoon and ordered the Justice Department to unseal the document by noon Friday.
Archives asked for records after Trump lawyer agreed they should be returned, email says
The affidavit likely contains key information about the investigation into classified documents that were kept at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office, including why FBI agents suspect crimes may have been committed. On Aug. 8, FBI agents searched the estate in Palm Beach and carted away about 20 boxes from a bedroom, office and a first-floor storage room. Authorities have said some of the seized documents included highly classified national secrets.
ADVERTISING
The warrant authorizing the search said agents were seeking all “physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation of three potential crimes,” including a part of the Espionage Act outlawing gathering, transmitting, or losing national defense information. The warrant also cites destruction of records and concealment or mutilation of government material.
Emails, documents and interviews show that the search followed months of conflict between the former president and law enforcement agencies about getting the documents — which are protected under the Presidential Records Act — into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.