The justice department, however, did support unsealing several ancillary documents that would not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation, including the cover sheet to the search warrant application, and the court’s sealing order – which Reinhart agreed to make public. One of his lawyers, Chrsitina Bobb, nonetheless attended the hearing to watch proceedings on Thursday. Trump has said he supports unsealing the affidavit but filed no motion of his own. Reinhart presided over arguments between the justice department and several media organizations. “This is going to be a considered, careful process,” the judge said. He gave the justice department until next Thursday at noon to propose redactions. The justice department also drew particular attention to the fact that the court had previously found probable cause of a violation of one of the obstruction statutes – with evidence of the obstruction at Mar-a-Lago – and that unsealing the affidavit could risk further obstruction.īut Reinhart said in federal court in Palm Beach, Florida, that he was inclined to release parts of the affidavit. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstockīratt opposed the release of a redacted affidavit since, given it contained significant grand jury information and investigative techniques, the redactions would be so extensive that it would show “nothing of substance”. The justice department is investigating Trump’s retention of classified documents. The justice department, represented in court by Jay Bratt, the chief of the counterintelligence section, argued against the release of any portion of the affidavit, saying it would reveal a roadmap of the investigation and chill cooperation from other witnesses who may come forward. ![]() Reinhart’s ruling came after the justice department disclosed for the first time that the criminal investigation surrounding the FBI’s seizure of classified and top secret documents from Mar-a-Lago – in potential violation of the Espionage Act – was still in its early stages. The judge said his decision was driven in part because it was important that the public have as much information as it could, though he conceded that the extensive redactions that are expected from the justice department could render the document essentially meaningless. ![]() “I’m not prepared to find that the affidavit should be fully sealed,” Reinhart said at a hearing in West Palm Beach. Ruling from the bench, the judge gave the justice department a week to propose redactions to the affidavit, which contains the probable cause used to justify the extraordinary search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort over his unauthorized retention of top secret and classified documents.
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