A federal judge in a surprise decision on Thursday signaled that he is willing to release parts of the affidavit that justified an FBI search of former President Donald Trump's Florida estate, ordering the Justice Department to submit proposed redactions next week.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off on the warrant that allowed the FBI to enter Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, heard arguments over whether the key records should be released to the public in the aftermath of the search.
The affidavit's release, which has been requested by a number of news outlets, would likely reveal details about the circumstances of the investigation, including why law enforcement sought a search warrant for Trump's Florida home and the evidence that gave them probable cause to do so.
The judge seemed to strike a compromise on Thursday between the wishes of the news outlets and the Justice Department, asking DOJ to submit the proposed redactions by noon Aug. 25. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the Florida judge not to release the affidavit, arguing in court filings that certain contents of the affidavit could "alter the investigation's trajectory, reveal ongoing and future investigative efforts, and undermine agents' ability to collect evidence or obtain truthful testimony." The agency also warned that the release of the documents could have "devastating consequences" for the "reputations and rights" of the individuals described therein.
Meanwhile, Trump earlier this week called for the release of the affidavit in the "interest of TRANSPARENCY," although he added in the post on his social media platform that there is no way to justify the "RAID of Mar-a-Lago."
Republican lawmakers have been adamant that the judge release the affidavit as well, continuing to point fingers at the Justice Department for what they say is a lack of transparency while tamping down earlier rebukes of the FBI after being quick to take the former president's side when he first announced that the agency had searched his estate and claimed that the move was politically motivated. In the days following, talk of war escalated in some far-right circles and an armed man approached an FBI office in Ohio and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement, as the agency reported growing threats against its agents and offices.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said while speaking at a political event in New Hampshire on Thursday that Republicans can hold the Justice Department and FBI accountable "without attacking the rank-and-file law enforcement personnel," while he warned that calls within the party to "defund the FBI are just as wrong as calls to defund the police."
"The Republican Party is the party of law and order," Pence said. "Our party stands with the men and women who serve on the thin blue line at the federal, state and local level. And these attacks on the FBI must stop."
Last week, a federal judge released court papers revealing that the FBI took 11 sets of classified records from Trump's Florida estate after the Justice Department asked for the documents to be made public. In Monday's court filings, the Justice Department explained that it had "determined that these materials could be released without significant harm to its investigation because the search had already been executed and publicly acknowledged by the former President, and because the materials had previously been provided to the former President through counsel."
"Disclosure at this juncture of the affidavit supporting probable cause would, by contrast, cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation," the court filing said.
Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters he agrees with the Justice Department's concerns about releasing the affidavit, but he suggested the current political environment may make following the Justice Department's usual protocol difficult, while dismissing Trump's claim that a partisan motive existed within the FBI's search.
"Probably it shouldn't be released and I think DOJ is right," Bolton said in an interview with Reuters. "And I think Trump in fact knows they don't want it released, which is why it's easy for him to call for it to be released because he knows it's not going to happen."
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