U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart rejected Monday’s argument by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to keep the Mar-a-Lago warrant affidavit secret. Reinhart stated that the government must prove why certain parts of the affidavit should be sealed.
The FBI searched the Florida residence of former President Donald Trump, Aug. 8. This sparked demands from the DOJ to justify this unprecedented raid.
Reinhart The government may keep the search warrant warrant affidavit that would provide details about the warrant’s reasoning sealed as long “there is an compelling governmental interest” and the denial is ‘narrowly tailored for that purpose. ‘” (RELATED: REPORT: FBI Was After Documents Trump Believed Would ‘Exonerate’ Him From Russia Conspiracy)
The DOJ is arguing unsealing the affidavit “would jeopardize the integrity of its ongoing criminal investigation,” with Reinhart saying he is greatly weighing the fact that “there is a significant likelihood that unsealing the Affidavit would harm legitimate privacy interests” of those involved in the raid as well as witnesses as well the fact that Secret Service uses the premises at Mar-a-Lago and unsealing the affidavit could be a security threat.
Reinhart noted that the “unsealing of the Affidavit” would encourage public understanding about historically important events. This is a strong argument for disclosure .”
JUST IN: Judge Reinhart filed a written order reiterating his decision to unseal portions of the Mar-a-Lago Affidavit.
He notes that Trump’s team did not intervene. He also indicated that he might eventually agree with the DOJ. https://t.co/MqOuPYRRhE pic.twitter.com/pipQdz2ckm
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 22, 2022
Nonetheless, Reinhart said he believes the DOJ has “met its burden of showing good cause/a compelling interest that overrides any public interest in unsealing the full contents of the Affidavit” but that he “must consider whether there is a less onerous alternative to unsealing the entire document.”
Reinhart then noted the DOJ’s argument that redacting portions of the affidavit would cause an “undue burden on its resources” has not been justified.
“Given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the Government has not yet shown that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing.”
“I therefore reject the Government’s argument that the present record justifies keeping the entire Affidavit under seal.”
Reinhart granted the DOJ’s request to give the agency the opportunity to propose redactions, with the deadline being August 25.
Reinhart previously announced he was considering allowing a redacted version of the affidavit to be released as various media outlets including The New York Times and CNN pushed for the document to be released in the interest of the public.
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