Justice Department Submits Sealed Proposal to Redact Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant Affidavit
Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said: “The United States has filed a sealed submission pursuant to the Court’s order of August 22. The Department of Justice respectfully declines further comment for a period of time. let the Court consider the matter.”
US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart will now consider whether to release the affidavit, and with all redactions. The timing of this decision is not known. The affidavit explains why investigators believe there was probable cause that the crimes were committed. The warrant authorized the FBI to search former President Donald Trump’s home and private club earlier this month.
Justice Department prosecutors have stressed that they need continued secrecy so as not to disrupt the ongoing criminal investigation, especially as they maintain the secrecy of grand jury activities and protect witnesses who have or could share information.
The media said the file should be made public with any necessary redactions to protect the ongoing investigation. Additionally, the media companies asked the judge to order that in the future, any documents the Justice Department files under seal in the transparency dispute also be filed publicly with appropriate redactions.
“As this Court has also recognized, there is little point in maintaining secrecy with respect to the facts of the investigation which the government has already publicly confirmed to be accurate,” the media request reads.
At a minimum, the media argued, “all parts of the record that list those facts about the investigation, without revealing others that are not yet publicly available – in addition to any other parts that do not constitute a threat to the investigation – should be unsealed.”
“If and when additional facts come to light and are confirmed to be accurate, or if certain facts no longer pose a threat to the investigation for any other reason, there is also no justification for keeping them under seal,” the media wrote. “Furthermore, all legal arguments contained in government documents must be made public, even if some of the facts recounted by the government remain under seal.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
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