WASHINGTON: The Justice Department on Friday released a heavily edited copy of the affidavit persuading a US judge to allow the stunner FBI search Florida former President Donald’s residence trumpet.
Government lawyers objected to the release of the affidavit, but the judge ordered it not be sealed with transactions the Justice Department deems necessary to protect an ongoing investigation into to national security.
FBI agents raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida on August 8, seizing boxes containing large amounts of top-secret documents that Trump did not return to government in spite of numerous requests and subpoenas.
The unanswered version of the affidavit could explain in detail what the department is investigating regarding Trump and could reveal sources.
But Judge Bruce Reinhart The Justice Department’s arguments accepted that there was a “mandatory” need to conceal significant portions of the document.
Reinhart ordered the release of the redacted affidavit at noon (1600 GMT) on Friday – and the feverish anticipation surrounding its publication sent the federal court’s website down.
Judicial authorities objected to the unsealing of the document, saying it would require transactions “so extensive as to render the remaining unsealed text meaningless.”
But the judge said its release was in the public interest, as the case involved an unprecedented search of a former president’s home.
The order for the raid invoked three criminal statutes, including one under the Espionage Act, which stipulates the illegal acquisition or storage of national security information and another for obstruction. federal investigation.
Trump, who is considering another run for the White House in 2024, vehemently condemned the FBI raid.
“Political Hacks and Thugs have no right under the Presidential Records Act to hack Mar-a-Lago and steal everything in sight, including Passports and privileged documents,” Trump said on the media. social media on Friday.
“They even broke into my safe with a safe-cracker – Can you believe it?” he wrote. “We now live in a Lawless Country, it happens too, a Failed Country!”
The former president filed a lawsuit Monday asking the court to name an independent party, or “special general,” to sift through records seized during the FBI raid for documents that were seized by the FBI. protected by personal privilege.
Naming a particular population could potentially block investigators’ access to documents, especially if that person accepts Trump’s claim that most are privileged.
Additionally, it could interfere if the Justice Department is considering charging Trump with obstructing their investigation by refusing to hand over the documents.
The former president’s lawsuit was filed not in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the order was originally issued, but in further Fort Pierce, where the sole judge is a Trump appointee.
Government lawyers objected to the release of the affidavit, but the judge ordered it not be sealed with transactions the Justice Department deems necessary to protect an ongoing investigation into to national security.
FBI agents raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida on August 8, seizing boxes containing large amounts of top-secret documents that Trump did not return to government in spite of numerous requests and subpoenas.
The unanswered version of the affidavit could explain in detail what the department is investigating regarding Trump and could reveal sources.
But Judge Bruce Reinhart The Justice Department’s arguments accepted that there was a “mandatory” need to conceal significant portions of the document.
Reinhart ordered the release of the redacted affidavit at noon (1600 GMT) on Friday – and the feverish anticipation surrounding its publication sent the federal court’s website down.
Judicial authorities objected to the unsealing of the document, saying it would require transactions “so extensive as to render the remaining unsealed text meaningless.”
But the judge said its release was in the public interest, as the case involved an unprecedented search of a former president’s home.
The order for the raid invoked three criminal statutes, including one under the Espionage Act, which stipulates the illegal acquisition or storage of national security information and another for obstruction. federal investigation.
Trump, who is considering another run for the White House in 2024, vehemently condemned the FBI raid.
“Political Hacks and Thugs have no right under the Presidential Records Act to hack Mar-a-Lago and steal everything in sight, including Passports and privileged documents,” Trump said on the media. social media on Friday.
“They even broke into my safe with a safe-cracker – Can you believe it?” he wrote. “We now live in a Lawless Country, it happens too, a Failed Country!”
The former president filed a lawsuit Monday asking the court to name an independent party, or “special general,” to sift through records seized during the FBI raid for documents that were seized by the FBI. protected by personal privilege.
Naming a particular population could potentially block investigators’ access to documents, especially if that person accepts Trump’s claim that most are privileged.
Additionally, it could interfere if the Justice Department is considering charging Trump with obstructing their investigation by refusing to hand over the documents.
The former president’s lawsuit was filed not in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the order was originally issued, but in further Fort Pierce, where the sole judge is a Trump appointee.
