The Department of Justice (DOJ), newly released affidavit for the FBI raid on ex-President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is heavily redacted. Photos of blacked-out lines are being circulated on social media and generating ridicule.
According to the affidavit, the DOJ apparently determined that classified information had not been stored properly and that there could be more at Trump’s Florida residence, basing this assessment on a review of 15 boxes the former president handed over to the feds voluntarily.
“The FBI investigation found that documents with classification markings that appear to be National Defense Information (NDI) were included in the FIFTEEN BOOXES. They were also stored at the PREMISES, in an unauthorized place,” reads the affidavit. It states that feds were concerned that these documents might have been disorganized.
[A] preliminary review of the FIFTEEN BOXES indicated that they contained “newspapers, magazines, printed news articles, photos, miscellaneous print-outs, notes, presidential correspondence, personal and post- presidential records, and ‘a lot ofclassified [sic] records.’ Of most significant concern was that highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly [sic] identified.”
However, a lot of the text has been redacted and remains under seal “in the interest of multiple civilian witnesses,” Breitbart News reported. The document is divided into
The categories are (1) information from civilian witnesses that may be subjected to intimidation or reprisal, D.E. 80 at 9; (2) information regarding investigative avenues and techniques that could provide a roadmap for potential ways to obstruct the investigation, id. at 9-10; (3) information whose disclosure is prohibited under Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (“Rule 6(e)”), such as grand jury subpoenas, testimony, and related material, id. at 10; (4) information whose disclosure could risk the safety of law enforcement personnel, id. at 9, and (5) information that could be harmful to “legitimate privacy rights” of third parties.
Redactions images have taken over social media.
“This really clarifies things,” Donald Trump Jr. stated, posting an image the redacted document along with others:
Well this really clears things up. pic.twitter.com/6S2FxIQtSi
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 26, 2022
This is the government’s memo explaining the reason they had to make redactions the Affidavit explaining why they raided a former president’s home.
As you can see it is very informative. pic.twitter.com/KNs8KbROAn
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 26, 2022
This is way too much redaction. Redacting is only necessary if you are revealing a source. Redacting only words and not paragraphs is the best way to do this.
Intel agencies created a crisis. https://t.co/Ejs92s8YJh
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) August 26, 2022
So the affidavit is the Redaction of all Redactions
Total waste of time and energy to release
The whole sordid tale of this abuse of power is still hiddenhttps://t.co/gen18BOW6LWhat a Freakin’ Joke! pic.twitter.com/4YKBCLPZz0
— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) August 26, 2022
The FBI gets the law wrong. The FBI is proving the lies against President Trump by releasing a blacked-out affidavit. Trump is true. You can see the redactions. This is another DOJ scam! #affidavit #maralago #trump #doj #maga #trump2024 pic.twitter.com/NHNAn2UrOg
— Grant Stinchfield (@stinchfield1776) August 26, 2022
mUh ReaL rEAsOnS fOr ThE rAId aRe BeHiND tHe rEdAcTIoNs.
(there is absolutely nothing in the unredacted portions that justifies the raid) https://t.co/S173dMh9u3 pic.twitter.com/EFZx5zbtjT
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) August 26, 2022
“Affidavit severely redacted! !” Trump exclaimed in a TruthSocial post.
“The FBI & DOJ used a public relations scheme called ‘Nuclear’ to conceal the fact that we had a close working relationship with them regarding document turnover. He stated that Judge Bruce Reinhart shouldn’t have permitted the break-in of my house.”
“He resigned two months ago in one of my cases, based on his hatred and animosity towards me. Why has he changed his mind? What has he done to change? Obama must feel proud right now.” Trump later added: “Witch Hunt!! !”
