On Monday, federal prosecutors asked a judge not to reveal a key document relating to the FBI search of Donald Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago.
After investigating former President Donald Trump, federal prosecutors said the document contains “highly sensitive information” that could jeopardize national security investigations.
The request came three days after the federal judge made the search warrant public, along with other material outlining key details of the raid.
The Department of Justice rejects the release of the affidavit
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he personally approved the warrant and supported his disclosure of “substantial public interest in this matter.”
On Monday, however, the Justice Department rejected requests for an affidavit in support of the search warrant.
They explained that it “presents a very different set of considerations.”
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In the United States District Court in Florida, federal prosecutors wrote:
“There remain compelling reasons, including to protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security, that supports keeping the affidavit sealed.”
The affidavit contains “critically important and detailed investigative facts,” according to the filing signed by Jay Bratt, the head of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Division of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
The facts include “highly sensitive information about witnesses, including witnesses interviewed by the government; specific investigative techniques; and information required by law to be kept under seal” under federal rules, as written by prosecutors.
“If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps,” the filing wrote.
“In addition, information about witnesses is particularly sensitive given the high-profile nature of this matter and the risk that the revelation of witness identities would impact their willingness to cooperate with the investigation,” the prosecutor added.
Prosecutors said they considered issuing a heavily redacted version of the affidavit, but ultimately concluded that “the redactions necessary to mitigate harms to the integrity of the investigation would be so extensive as to render the remaining unsealed text devoid of meaningful content.”
Results of the raids
On Friday, the search warrant and title deed were opened, revealing more behind Trump’s house search.
However, it also raised more questions about the federal investigation into the former president.
According to the documents, the FBI received 20 boxes of articles and other documents, including several sets of top secret and classified documents.
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The search warrant says officers were looking for documents related to three criminal statutes, including one that is part of the Espionage Act.
A law relating to the removal or destruction of government records carries the penalty of being “disqualified from holding any office under the United States,” according to the law.
Meanwhile, none of the three statutes (US Code Title 18, Sections 793, 1519, and 2071) depend on whether or not documents are classified.
Early Monday, Trump announced on his social media platform that the FBI confiscated three of his passports in the raid, including one that had expired. Relationship:
The DOJ is asking the judge to keep Trump’s search warrant affidavit sealed to protect the national security investigation.
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