Photo: Tribune News Service
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the Department of Justice to unseal a redacted version of the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant for the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Reinhart's decision came hours after the Justice Department submitted a redacted copy of the affidavit for review. Reinhart called the proposed redactions "narrowly tailored to serve the government's legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation." He determined that DOJ had "met its burden of showing a compelling reason" to keep portions of the document secret because they could reveal "the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents, and uncharged parties" and information about the scope of the investigation.
Reinhart said that the government has until 12 p.m. ET on Friday (August 26) to release the redacted document.
FBI agents recovered multiple boxes, including numerous sets of classified materials from Mar-a-Lago, as part of an investigation into whether Trump illegally took classified documents when he left the White House.