![](https://theconservativetake.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/iohg.jpg)
On Thursday, a federal judge in Florida mandated that the U.S. Justice Department submit a redacted copy of its affidavit in support of the FBIâs search of former President Donald Trumpâs residence for public release by Friday at noon.
The Justice Department must now choose whether to appeal, but even if it doesnât, the redactions agreed upon on Thursday imply that the public will only view a small portion of the affidavitâs content.
The identities of witnesses, law enforcement personnel, and uncharged individuals, as well as the investigationâs strategy, direction, scope, sources, and methods, and grand jury information, were all agreed to be redacted by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart.
Breakingđ¨: Judge Reinhart has ordered the release *tomorrow* of a redacted version of the Mar-a-Lago affidavit. pic.twitter.com/UEaze6axIx
â Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) August 25, 2022
Only a few hours before, a Justice Department official had acknowledged that prosecutors had sent the judge a sealed copy of their affidavit with suggested redactions.
This month, Reinhart gave her approval to the Justice Departmentâs search warrant that was used by the FBI to examine Donald Trumpâs Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach. The affidavit is a sworn declaration explaining the proof that gives the Justice Department reason to believe that a search warrant should be requested.
The FBI removed more than 20 boxes containing 11 sets of classified government records, some of which were marked âtop secret,â during the search at Mar-a-Lago that the court had authorized.
Attorney General Merrick Garland made the unusual decision to confirm the existence of the departmentâs investigation after Trump claimed the FBI was retaliating against him politically. He also asked a court to unseal significant portions of the search warrant and property receipt listing the seized items.
Media companies filed a legal challenge to have the document opened after the government refused to provide it.
Prosecutors requested Reinhart not to disclose the document during a hearing last week, claiming that doing so may hurt their ongoing inquiry, discourage witness cooperation, and endanger the safety of FBI agents who are already under intense threat.
Reinhart has made it clear he doesnât think the whole thing has to be kept secret and has requested that the Justice Department give him a copy of the document with suggested redactions. During the hearing, Reinhart stated that if the prosecution disagrees with his suggested revision, they will have the chance to appeal.
Even though his lawyers had not spoken, Trump demanded the documentâs unsealing on social media.
In a separate civil case, he has asked a different judge to order a halt to the FBIâs review of the records that were seized until a special master has been appointed to independently examine the records for any information that might be covered by executive privilege, a legal doctrine that allows the president to withhold some information.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has requested that Trumpâs legal team submit a more focused proposal by Friday that more clearly outlines the remedy that the former president is looking for and justifies why Reinhart should not receive it instead.