United States: A federal judge in Florida ruled that parts of an FBI affidavit used to obtain a search warrant for the Mar-a-Lago property of former US President Donald Trump must be made public.
The Justice Department had "not carried its burden" to keep the entire document sealed, according to US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who ordered the government to propose by noon on August 25 what details in the affidavit should be kept secret.
Reinhart said at the request of news media outlets and others in West Palm Beach to publicly release the affidavit, "I'm not prepared to find that the affidavit needs to be completely sealed."

The Justice Department's head of counter-intelligence, Jay Bratt, recently informed Reinhart that the release of the affidavit would "severely compromise" the ongoing investigation and that a line-by-line revision of the document would be unrealistic.

The investigation, according to Bratt, is still in its "very early stages", and the affidavit is lengthy, extremely detailed, and contains "substantial grand jury information". According to him, the DOJ is concerned that the names of agents and the identities of witnesses will be disclosed if it is released.

The judge said the government is free to request that certain information be amended, but they are unlikely to accept it. If he disagreed with the DOJ's suggestions, he said he would make his own corrections.
According to an agreement between the Justice Department and Trump last week, the warrants and other documents were to be made public, along with items taken during the August 8 search. However, more comprehensive affidavits, according to the government, contain information that should be kept confidential while the investigation is underway, particularly information about witnesses.

Trump, who claims the finding was politically motivated and futile, did not submit a motion asking the judge to quash the affidavit, despite advocating for it in public statements. Trump spokesman Taylor Budovich wrote on Twitter on Thursday that "the full affidavit should be issued."

According to Alina Habba, Trump's lawyer, "I am optimistic that the unsealed portions of the affidavit will provide some much-needed clarity about the underlying motivations in this investigation."
Former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers warned that the "highly unusual" release of the affidavit could ultimately work against Trump rather than the government. The judge may allow the DOJ to omit the names of agents and witnesses, leaving in practice the specifics of the alleged offenses.

This would prevent Trump from learning the identities of witnesses, and the public would be exposed to damaging evidence against him, according to Rodgers.
Reinhart made his remarks during the first public hearing since the historic search of the former president's home, during which Federal Bureau of Investigation agents removed 11 sets of classified documents.

Media outlets and others tended to get involved in the matter, arguing that the affidavit should be made public because of the significant public interest in the unprecedented search of the former president's home.
According to media lawyers, many of the details that can be found in the affidavit, have already been reported by several outlets citing unnamed sources. Considering that, according to the judge, is "a dangerous spiral."

A significant disclosure of an FBI affidavit would be highly unusual because it is generally only made public when criminal charges are brought. The Justice Department's request for the release of the warrant was perceived as a significant deviation from the already widely accepted practice.
The warrant's cover sheet, which listed the federal crimes being investigated, and prosecutors' request that the warrant be kept secret until it is fulfilled, was one of the additional documents Those were ordered to be unsealed by the judge on Thursday.

The affidavit, which generally provides a more complete description of the ongoing investigation, will probably provide more information about why Reinhart approved the politically sensitive finding three months before the midterm election. Trump and his aides have sharply criticized the judge, the FBI and the Justice Department over the search.
The Justice Department argued in a court filing on August 15 that keeping the affidavit sealed "would protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation affecting national security." The government claimed that deleting the affidavit could also expose "highly sensitive information". About the witnesses.

If the government disagrees with the judge's decision regarding the final order on the amendments, the DOJ or any other party will have an opportunity to appeal the decision.
While the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee made a bipartisan request to the government for members to have private access to the classified documents, some Republican lawmakers had also called for the document's release.

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