Donald Trump search affidavit should be partly unsealed, US judge says
- Judge Bruce Reinhart gave the Justice Department until August 25 to propose what parts of the document should be kept secret
- Media outlets and others are seeking the release of the affidavit, but there are concerns about possible exposure for witnesses and FBI agents
Portions of the FBI affidavit used to secure a search warrant for former US president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate should be unsealed, a federal judge in Florida said.
US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday said the Justice Department had not “met its burden” for keeping the entire document sealed and asked the government to propose by noon on August 25 what information in the affidavit should be kept secret.
“I’m not prepared to find that the affidavit should be fully sealed,” Reinhart said during a hearing in West Palm Beach on a request from news media organisations and others to publicly release the affidavit.
Reinhart made the remarks moments after Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s counter-intelligence chief, told him that the ongoing investigation would be “severely compromised” if the affidavit is released, adding that a line-by-line redaction of the document was unrealistic.
Bratt said the investigation is in the “very early stages” and that the affidavit is very detailed, “lengthy” and contains “substantial grand jury information”. He said the DOJ is concerned that its release will identify names of agents and identities of witnesses.