Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Justice Dept. Releases Redacted Mar-a-Lago Search Affidavit
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
August 26, 2022

Share

 

Fourteen of the 15 boxes recovered from former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate earlier this year contained documents with classification markings, according to an FBI affidavit released Friday explaining the justification for the search of the property this month.

The 32-page affidavit, even in its redacted form, contains additional details about an ongoing criminal investigation that has brought fresh legal peril for Trump just as he lays the groundwork for another presidential run. It underscores the volume of sensitive government documents located at Mar-a-Lago and reveals FBI concerns that the records were being retained illegally.

Though the document offers the most substantial description of the investigation, federal officials also redacted significant portions of it to protect the identity of witnesses and to avoid revealing sensitive investigative tactics.

The FBI submitted the affidavit, or sworn statement, to a judge so it could obtain a warrant to search Trump’s property. Affidavits typically contain vital information about an investigation, with agents spelling out 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 pending investigations, making the judge’s decision to reveal portions of it all the more striking.

In an acknowledgment of the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday ordered the department by Friday to make public a redacted version of the affidavit. The directive came hours after federal law enforcement officials submitted under seal the portions of the affidavit that they want to keep secret as their investigation moves forward.

The redactions proposed by the Justice Department are 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, and is likely to help explain why federal agents who had tried for months to recover sensitive government records from Mar-a-Lago ultimately felt compelled to obtain a search warrant.

Documents previously made public show the FBI retrieved from the property 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level. They also show that federal agents are investigating potential violations of three federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defense information under the Espionage Act. The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.

It’s possible that the affidavit, particularly in its unredacted form, could shed light on key unanswered questions, including why sensitive presidential documents — classified documents, among them — were transported to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House and why Trump and his representatives did not supply the entire tranche of material to the National Archives and Records Administration despite repeated entreaties.

It could also offer additional details on the back-and-forth between Trump and the FBI, including a subpoena for documents that was issued last spring, as well as a June visit by FBI and Justice Department officials to assess how the materials were being stored.

The Justice Department had earlier contested arguments by media organizations to make the affidavit public, saying any disclosure could contain private information about witnesses and about investigative tactics. But Reinhart, acknowledging the extraordinary public interest in the investigation, said last week that he was disinclined to keep the entire document sealed and told federal officials to submit to him in private the redactions it wanted to make.

In his order Thursday, Reinhart said the department had made compelling arguments to leave sealed broad swaths of the document that, if disclosed, would reveal grand jury information; the identities of witnesses and “uncharged parties”; and details about the investigation’s “strategy, direction, scope, sources and methods.”

But he also said he was satisfied “that the Government has met its burden of showing that its proposed redactions are narrowly tailored to serve the Government’s legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire Affidavit.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

DON'T MISS

Wittrup: Vote to Table Bullard Fence Contract Was ‘Retaliatory’

DON'T MISS

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

DON'T MISS

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

DON'T MISS

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

DON'T MISS

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

DON'T MISS

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

DON'T MISS

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Comedy Night: ‘President Trump’ Meets ‘Superintendent Biden’

DON'T MISS

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

UP NEXT

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity But Decision’s Timing Is Unclear

UP NEXT

Tennessee Legislators Join Movement Permitting Teachers to Carry Guns in Schools

UP NEXT

Fong Won’t Debate Boudreaux, but We Get Hot Topic Answers Anyway

UP NEXT

Biden Signs a $95 Billion War Aid Measure With Assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

UP NEXT

Arizona Just Revived an 1864 Law Criminalizing Abortion. Here’s What’s Happening in Other States

UP NEXT

Costa Seeks Legislation to Prevent Reedley Lab Repeat

UP NEXT

Tabloid Publisher Says He Pledged to Be Trump Campaign’s ‘Eyes and Ears’ During 2016 Race

UP NEXT

CA Lawmakers Reject Bill Cracking Down on Utilities Spending Customers’ Money

UP NEXT

Will CA Lawmakers Crack Down on Spending by Utility Companies?

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

13 hours ago

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

14 hours ago

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

14 hours ago

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

15 hours ago

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

Local Education /

15 hours ago

Fresno Unified Comedy Night: ‘President Trump’ Meets ‘Superintendent Biden’

16 hours ago

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

16 hours ago

Jose Ramirez Bout, Clovis Rodeo Are Center Stage in a Weekend Crammed With Events

17 hours ago

Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Trump’s Claim of Absolute Immunity But Decision’s Timing Is Unclear

17 hours ago

Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created

18 hours ago

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse on Thursday gave their final approval to legislation criminalizing adults who...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Tennessee Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Adults Assisting Minors in Gender-Affirming Care

Local Education /
12 hours ago

Wittrup: Vote to Table Bullard Fence Contract Was ‘Retaliatory’

13 hours ago

Did Arias ‘Weaponize’ City Attorney’s Office by Requesting Documents from Smittcamp?

13 hours ago

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

14 hours ago

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

14 hours ago

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

15 hours ago

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

Local Education /
15 hours ago

No Security Fence for Bullard High. Why Did Fresno Trustees Table Bid Award?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend