The redacted affidavit detailing the events leading up to the August raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate has been made public by the Department of Justice, which also said that 14 out of the 15 boxes removed earlier this year included classified material.
According to the document that claims the FBI had “probable cause to suspect evidence of obstruction will be discovered” at Trump’s Florida property, he had 184 classified papers, 67 confidential, 25 top secret, and handwritten notes in boxes returned to the National Archives.
Because it would “erode faith” in the government’s investigation, the DOJ said it kept significant sections of the records blacked in order to safeguard the identities of civilian witnesses and law enforcement officials, including FBI agents.
The letter states, “In sum, the Government has well-founded fears that efforts may be taken to impede or otherwise interfere with this inquiry should information in the affidavit be prematurely published.”
The affidavit also claims that since Trump’s Florida residence lacked a safe location to store the papers, agents requested that he lock the basement where they had been housed.
The affidavit that was provided to the Florida judge who approved the search earlier this month has been demanded for publication by all parties.
While his detractors thought it would demonstrate how he was suspected of violating regulations regulating presidential records and the handling of confidential data, Trump hoped it would reveal the paucity of evidence against him.
The Justice Department cautioned that it would jeopardize an existing investigation and threaten agents and informants.
The Justice Department should decide whether Trump jeopardized national security by bringing the crates to his house, according to President Biden on Friday.
When he was questioned by reporters at the White House, he said, “We’ll let the Justice Department decide that.”
The judge’s decision to release sections of such records, which include agents outlining crucial pieces of evidence, is all the more remarkable given that such materials often stay sealed during ongoing investigations.
However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the government to release a redacted version of the affidavit by noon on Friday in response to the heightened public interest in the investigation of a former American president on Thursday.
The redacted affidavit detailing the events leading up to the August raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club has been made public by the Department of Justice, which also said that 14 out of the 15 boxes collected earlier this year included classified material.
On Monday, August 8, in the early hours, FBI investigators arrived at the Florida residence of the former president Donald Trump. Boxes containing sensitive information and other presidential materials were taken.
Reinhart deemed the blacked-out areas in his ruling to be appropriately narrow.
He added that the blacked-out portions were required to protect witnesses, agents, and parties who had not yet been charged – as well as the overall strategy and scope of the investigation. He concluded that the government had satisfied its burden of demonstrating a compelling reason or good cause to seal portions of the affidavit.
Earlier on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that “no one” in the White House had received a briefing on the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago earlier in the month that led to the removal of sensitive materials.
Following the revelation of a letter demonstrating the back and forth between the country’s archivist and Trump officials that addressed the White House counsel’s office, President Joe Biden’s own vigorous statement on the subject, she made her remark.
This spring’s conversation demonstrated the White House’s deference to the archives about former President Donald Trump’s claims of privilege regarding the data the FBI requested access to, but it also indicated White House awareness of a dispute over documents Trump had willingly returned.
When CNN anchor Don Lemon directly questioned her about “who in the White House knew about the probe,” she responded in the negative.
Let me clarify for a moment that they are two distinct things. Look, we have been quite clear about this when it comes to the investigation and search that we just saw and that you all have reported on. President wasn’t briefed, however. The White House staff was not informed. She said, “We weren’t informed on the probe.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday night that ‘no one’ at the White House knew in advance about the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago earlier this month
President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he was never informed about the FBI raid, which has sparked outrage from Republicans as well as from Trump and his friends.
I was not given any prior warning. None. Zero. Not even close,’ Biden said, forming the number zero with his palm. Following numerous public requests by Trump that investigators look into his political opponents, Jean-Pierre frequently brought up Biden’s commitment to restore the independence of the Justice Department.
‘Restore the independence of the Department of Justice,’ she said Biden had pledged.
She remarked, “We don’t comment, we don’t get involved, and we don’t get briefed.”
When questioned whether the White House was aware that the papers were at Mar-a-Lago, she avoided giving a straight response and instead focused on the search.
“What we did was postpone. She responded to Lemon’s question, “Who are we?” by saying, “We deferred to the Department of Justice.”
I’m going to let the letter speak for itself; I’ll leave it at that,” she said.
The White House “referred it to the national archives,” she said, adding that she didn’t have any particular names or information.
She was referring to the choice made after Trump delivered 15 boxes of records from Mar-a-Lago after receiving months’ worth of demands from the government to defer to the archivist on privilege issues.
In a letter dated May 2021 to Trump’s attorney Evan Corcoran, the acting director of the National Archives describes the FBI’s efforts to evaluate 15 boxes of documents that Trump had allowed to be returned from the exclusive club where he resides.
Invoking presidential privilege in a protected manner was what Trump was attempting to do.
Debra Steidel Wall, acting archivist of the United States, wrote that the current president was the only one who could claim privilege. She also disclosed correspondence with the White House counsel’s office about the situation.
According to the Counsel to the President, President Biden defers to my judgment in this case after consulting with the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, she wrote.
The acrimonious discussion takes place on the same day that Judge Bruce Reinhart approved a redacted copy of the affidavit used to support the former President’s search warrant from the Justice Department.
After media outlets pushed for its publication, he decided to disclose it on Friday afternoon. Prosecutors objected, claiming that doing so may jeopardize their investigation or result in witness harassment.
All watchers are eager to see what the document reveals about what the government has determined in its probable Espionage Act and obstruction probe and what the FBI was seeking for, despite the fact that it is anticipated to be extensively blacked.
Without providing any proof that Biden was aware of the raid, Trump went on a tirade online on his Truth Social platform, rejecting assertions that he didn’t.
“Joe Biden said he was unaware of the Mar-a-Lago Break-In, the worst political assassination in American history. Who among us really believes this? Trump penned a letter.
Daughter-in-law On Thursday morning, Lara Trump accused Biden of lying after the president claimed to have had “zero” prior knowledge of the FBI’s unauthorized investigation of Mar-a-Lago.
She said on Fox & Friends, “I don’t think anybody believes Joe Biden.” We are aware that that is a falsehood, she added.