The Judge Seems Willing To Release Some Of Mar A Lago S Affidavits

U.S. District Judge Bruce Rinehart said that under the law, it is the government’s duty to show why a redacted version should not be released, and prosecutors’ arguments Thursday failed to convince him. He gave them a week to file a copy of the affidavit suggesting the information he wants to keep secret after the FBI seized classified and top secret information during a search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last week. The hearing was called after several news organizations, including the Associated Press, sought to unseal additional records tied to last week’s investigation, including the affidavit. It is likely to contain key details about the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Trump retained and mishandled classified and sensitive government records. The Justice Department has strongly objected to releasing any part of the affidavit, arguing that doing so would jeopardize its ongoing investigation, reveal the identities of witnesses and could deter others from coming forward and cooperating with the government. Lawyers for the news organizations, however, have argued that the unprecedented nature of the Justice Department’s investigation warrants public disclosure. “You can’t trust what you can’t see,” said Chuck Tobin, an attorney representing the AP and several other news outlets. In addition to ordering the changes, the judge agreed to release other documents, including the warrant cover, the Justice Department’s motion to seal the documents and the judge’s order requiring them to be sealed. Those documents indicated that the FBI was specifically investigating the “intentional withholding of national defense information,” concealing or removing government records, and obstructing a federal investigation. Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s top national security attorney, had argued that the affidavit should remain hidden from the public. Unsealing it, he said, would provide a “road map” of the investigation — which is in the “early stages” — and reveal the next steps to be taken by federal agents and prosecutors. He argued that it was in the public interest that the investigation, including witness interviews, proceed unhindered. As the hearing began, a small motorcade of vehicles bearing Trump flags drove past the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida. Trump’s lawyer, Christina Bob, was in court Thursday, but said she was only there to watch the proceedings. Bratt argued in court that even a redacted version of the document could reveal investigative steps or allow sleuths or those under investigation to identify witnesses in the case. He also argued that the Justice Department had already made rare efforts to ensure transparency, including asking the court to unseal the warrant and proof of ownership, which were made public last week. “There is increased interest,” he admitted. “This is probably an unprecedented situation.” Trump, in a post on Truth Social last week, called for the release of the unredacted affidavit for the sake of transparency. Reinhart gave the government until next Thursday to submit its version of the proposed amendments along with line-by-line written arguments for each. He said he would then review the proposal and make his own suggested corrections, then meet with government lawyers to give them a final argument as to why certain information should be withheld. Justice Department lawyers have argued in court filings that the investigation into Trump’s handling of “highly classified material” is ongoing and that the document contains sensitive witness information. A recent filing by Bratt and Juan Antonio Gonzalez, the U.S. attorney in Miami, says releasing the affidavit would “cause significant and irreparable harm to this ongoing criminal investigation.” “If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a road map for the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a way that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps,” they wrote. FBI agents searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 8, removing 11 sets of classified documents, some containing not only top secret but “sensitive information,” according to an affidavit released Friday. This is a special category intended to protect the nation’s most important secrets that if disclosed publicly could cause “extremely serious” damage to US interests. Court records did not provide specific details about what information the documents may contain.

Balsamo reported from New York.