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. The Justice Department had earlier contested arguments by media organizations to make any portion of the affidavit public, saying the disclosure could contain private information about witnesses and about investigative tactics.

The other statutes address the concealment, mutilation or removal of records and the destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations. espionage laws.įederal agents are investigating potential violations of three different federal laws, including one that governs gathering, transmitting or losing defence information under the Espionage Act, according to documents already made public. The Justice Department revealed a brief list of what FBI agents seized, which included 20 boxes of papers that could violate U.S. president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. federal judge unsealed the search warrant used on former U.S. Yet even a redacted affidavit can contain at least some fresh revelations about the investigation, which brings fresh legal peril just as Trump lays the groundwork for another presidential run in 2024.ĭuration 4:24 A U.S. The redactions proposed by the Justice Department are likely to be 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. Search warrant affidavits typically contain vital information about an investigation, with agents spelling out why they want to search a particular property and why they believe they are likely to find evidence of a potential crime there. But affidavits routinely remain sealed during the course of pending investigations, making the judge's decision to reveal portions of it in this one all the more striking. 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. 8 as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The order means the public could soon get at least some additional details about what led FBI officials to search Mar-a-Lago on Aug.

Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart came hours after federal law enforcement submitted under seal the portions of the affidavit that they want to keep secret as their investigation moves forward. The judge set a deadline of noon Friday for a redacted, or blacked-out, version of the document to be released. president Donald Trump to look for classified documents. Justice Department to make public a redacted version of the affidavit it relied on when federal agents searched the Florida estate of former U.S.

Redacted documents