Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Search: Judge Given Proposed Redactions to Affidavit
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
August 25, 2022

Share

 

The Justice Department on Thursday submitted to a judge proposed redactions to the affidavit it relied on when federal agents searched the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump to look for classified documents.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart will decide whether the sealed FBI affidavit, which presumably lays out a detailed factual basis for the search, will become public — and if so, how much is disclosed.

“The United States has filed a submission under seal per the Court’s order of Aug. 22,” Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement. “The Justice Department respectfully declines further comment as the Court considers the matter.”

Reinhart had given the department until Thursday at noon to propose to him the redactions to the affidavit it wanted to make before any portion of it was released to the public. But he acknowledged on Monday that it was possible that the redactions, or blacked-out portions, would be so extensive as to leave the public version of the document without any meaningful information.

The affidavit is likely to contain key information about the FBI’s basis for executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach on Aug. 8. Documents already made public as part of the investigation show that the FBI retrieved from the property 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level.

The documents also showed that the FBI was investigating the “willful retention of national defense information,” the concealment or removal of government records and obstruction of a federal investigation.

Multiple news media organizations, including The Associated Press, argued in court last week for the disclosure of the affidavit, citing the extraordinary public interest in the federal search of a former president’s home. Trump and some of his supporters have also encouraged the document’s release.

The media coalition responded to Thursday’s filing by asking the judge to unseal portions of the department’s brief and to direct the government, “going forward,” to file publicly a redacted version of any sealed document it submits. The groups noted that significant information about the investigation is already public.

“At a minimum, any portions of the Brief that recite those facts about the investigation, without revealing additional ones not yet publicly available — in addition to any other portions that pose no threat to the investigation — should be unsealed,” the news organizations wrote.

They added: “If and when additional facts come to light and are confirmed to be accurate, or certain facts no longer pose a threat to the investigation for any other reason, there is no justification for maintaining them under seal either.”

The Justice Department has opposed the release, saying the disclosure risks compromising an ongoing criminal investigation, revealing information about witnesses and divulging investigative techniques.

Reinhart has said that though he was sensitive to the department’s concerns, he was not inclined to keep the entire document sealed and directed officials to submit to him redactions of the document reflecting the information it wants to keep secret.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Gameplan Works to Perfection Until Late 4rth Quarter

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Puts No. 9 Michigan on Upset Alert but Wolverines Prevail

DON'T MISS

Coffee Pot Fire Is 13% Contained but Grows to 10,164 Acres

DON'T MISS

CA Lawmakers Pass Landmark Bills to Atone for Racism, but Hold Off Funding

DON'T MISS

49ers Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall Shot in Attempted Union Square Robbery

DON'T MISS

Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?

DON'T MISS

Red Wavers Go the Extra Mile to Make It a Party Before the ‘Dogs Play Michigan

DON'T MISS

Voting Rights Under Fire in Texas: Over a Million Purged From Rolls, ACLU Warns

DON'T MISS

Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins

DON'T MISS

Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home

UP NEXT

Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?

UP NEXT

Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk

UP NEXT

Trump Reverses Course, Opposes Florida Abortion Rights Measure After Conservative Backlash

UP NEXT

Trump Film ‘The Apprentice’ Finds Distributor and Will Open Before the Election

UP NEXT

California Treasurer Fiona Ma Cleared of Sexual Harassment Allegations

UP NEXT

How One Brazilian Judge Could Suspend Elon Musk’s X

UP NEXT

Postmaster General Is Confident About Ability to Process Mail-in Ballots

UP NEXT

How Trump and Georgia’s Republican Governor Made Peace, Helped by Allies Anxious About the Election

UP NEXT

Vance Blames Harris for Deaths in Kabul, Tells VP to ‘Go to Hell’

UP NEXT

Arlington Cemetery Official Was ‘Pushed Aside’ in Trump Staff Altercation but Won’t Press Charges

CA Lawmakers Pass Landmark Bills to Atone for Racism, but Hold Off Funding

3 hours ago

49ers Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall Shot in Attempted Union Square Robbery

4 hours ago

Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?

4 hours ago

Red Wavers Go the Extra Mile to Make It a Party Before the ‘Dogs Play Michigan

5 hours ago

Voting Rights Under Fire in Texas: Over a Million Purged From Rolls, ACLU Warns

12 hours ago

Bettors Banking on Eagles Resurgence, Cowboys Regression as NFL Season Begins

15 hours ago

Abandoned Poodle Mix Adam Survives the Wild and Seeks a Forever Home

16 hours ago

Labor Day Quiz: What Did Elvis Do Before He Was the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’?

17 hours ago

Why Black Students Are Still Disciplined at Higher Rates: Takeaways From AP’s Report

17 hours ago

Top Brazilian Judge Orders Suspension of X Platform in Brazil Amid Feud With Musk

1 day ago

Bulldogs’ Gameplan Works to Perfection Until Late 4rth Quarter

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Fresno State interim head coach Tim Skipper revealed his gameplan after Michigan’s 30-10 football victory over the ...

47 mins ago

Fresno State intermin head coach Tim Skipperl watches his team warm up during pregame of an NCAA college football game against Michigan, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
47 mins ago

Bulldogs’ Gameplan Works to Perfection Until Late 4rth Quarter

Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene throws against Michigan in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
2 hours ago

Fresno State Puts No. 9 Michigan on Upset Alert but Wolverines Prevail

A view of the Coffee Pot Fire in Tulare County California
2 hours ago

Coffee Pot Fire Is 13% Contained but Grows to 10,164 Acres

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, right, talks to members of Coalition for a Just and Equitable California about two reparations bills in the rotunda on the last day of the legislative year Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)
3 hours ago

CA Lawmakers Pass Landmark Bills to Atone for Racism, but Hold Off Funding

Police officers secure the area and investigate the scene of a shooting at Union Square in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
4 hours ago

49ers Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall Shot in Attempted Union Square Robbery

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at an event in anticipation of signing a bill on his proposed oil profit penalty plan in Sacramento on March 28, 2023. (CalMatters/ Miguel Gutierrez Jr.)
4 hours ago

Will Gov. Newsom Call a Special Session to Deal With Gas Prices?

Fresno State dancers cheer on the Bulldogs against Michigan, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
5 hours ago

Red Wavers Go the Extra Mile to Make It a Party Before the ‘Dogs Play Michigan

12 hours ago

Voting Rights Under Fire in Texas: Over a Million Purged From Rolls, ACLU Warns

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend