Judge Bruce Rinehart on Monday acknowledged that the FBI raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was “unprecedented” and formally rejected the Justice Department’s argument to keep the affidavit that led to the investigation sealed, citing “intense public and historical interest. “ Reinhart, in a deposition Monday morning, said he rejected “the government’s argument that the present record warrants keeping the entire affidavit under seal.” “The government argues that even requiring it to redact portions of the affidavit that could not reveal the identities of agents or the sources and methods of investigation places an undue burden on its resources and sets a precedent that could be vexing and burdensome in future cases.” Reinhart wrote. “I need not reach the question whether, in some other case, those concerns could justify the denial of public access; they well might.” He added: “Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the administration has yet to demonstrate that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing.” FBI Seizes Secret Files From MAR-A-LAGO DURING TRUMP HOUSE SEARCH Reinhart said he gave the Justice Department “an opportunity to propose an amendment,” which it granted last week, giving the administration a Thursday, Aug. 25, deadline at noon. “Accordingly, it is ORDERED that within the deadline, the Government will file a sealed submission addressing potential expungements and provide any additional evidence or legal argument that the Government believes is relevant to the pending Unsealing Proposals,” the motion states. Reinhart, during a much-anticipated hearing in Florida’s West Palm Beach Division last Thursday, said the entire affidavit should not be kept under seal, despite the Justice Department’s argument that release would jeopardize future steps in the case. research and would provide a “road map” for research. FBI criticized for raiding former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home (Fox News) Reinhart will then review those redactions and determine the best way to proceed — whether to accept recommendations from government prosecutors or implement his own corrections. The judge also reminded that the government or the media, the two parties to the lawsuit, can appeal his decision if either or both object to his proposed amendments, which will remain under seal. U.S. Attorney Jay Bratt argued last week that unsealing the affidavit would “provide a road map” of an ongoing investigation that is still in its early stages. JUDGE SAYS TO RELEASE PART OF AFFIDAVIT THAT LEAD TO SEARCH OF TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO Brat also said the country was in a “volatile” situation and warned that releasing the names of witnesses or FBI agents would “chill” other witnesses who may yet come forward. “This is not a precedent we want to set,” Bratt said. “The government is very concerned about the safety of the witnesses in this case.” Media organizations arguing that the affidavit should be unsealed, the government and Rinehart all agreed that this is a unique and unprecedented case. Charles Tobin, who supported the Washington Post and other media organizations, said the Mar-a-Lago raid was one of the most important law enforcement actions in the nation’s history, saying, “The public interest could not to be bigger”. Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Trump, though he did not attend the hearing, requested that the affidavit be unsealed and released in unredacted form. “In the interest of TRANSPARENCY, I’m demanding the immediate release of the completely Unredacted Affidavit related to this horrific and shocking LEAK,” Trump wrote. FBI SEIZES PRIVILEGE TRUMP FILES IN ATTACK. DOJ OPPOSES DEMAND FOR INDEPENDENT REVIEW: SOURCES Meanwhile, documents unsealed by Reinhart and released Thursday included the “criminal cover” as well as the warrant application. The government, in that application, said the “basis for the investigation” was “evidence of crime” and “contraband, attributes of crime or other illegally possessed items.” The application said the investigation related to “deliberate withholding of national defense information,” “concealing or removing government records” and “obstructing a federal investigation.” Earlier this month, Rinehart unsealed the FBI search warrant and proof of ownership from the investigation. Rinehart signed the warrant on August 5, giving the FBI the authority to conduct its investigation. According to the proof of ownership, reviewed in advance of its release by Fox News Digital, FBI agents took about 20 boxes of items from the facility, including a set of documents labeled “Miscellaneous classified documents/TS/Scientific documents.” , which refers to top secret/sensitive apartment information. Records covered by this level of government classification could potentially include human intelligence and information that, if disclosed, could jeopardize relations between the United States and other nations, as well as the lives of intelligence officials abroad . However, the classification also includes national security information related to the day-to-day activities of the president of the United States. A police officer speaks with a woman outside former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., August 8, 2022. ( REUTERS/Marco Bello) The proof of ownership also shows that FBI agents collected four sets of top secret documents, three sets of classified documents and three sets of confidential documents. Proof of ownership does not reveal details about any of these files. FBI BULLETIN WARNS OF ‘DIRTY BOMB’ THREAT, RISING CALLS FOR ‘CIVIL WAR’ AFTER MAR-A-LAGO ATTACK The catalog also includes a “leather bound document box”, photo bindings, handwritten notes, miscellaneous documents, various top secret documents, various confidential documents, and other files. The government conducted the investigation in response to what it believes is a violation of federal law: 18 USC 793 — collection, transmission, or loss of defense information. 18 USC 2071 — concealment, removal or mutilation. and 18 USC 1519 — destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations. The allegation of “collection, transmission or loss of defense information” falls under the Espionage Act. The former president and his team dispute the classification and say they believe the information and records have been declassified. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sources familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital that the FBI also seized boxes containing files covered by attorney-client privilege and possibly executive privilege during its raid. Sources told Fox News that, because of attorney-client privilege, Trump’s team asked the Justice Department for their position on whether to support a third, independent special master to review those records, but sources told Fox News that the Justice Department notified Trump’s team that it would oppose that request. David Spunt of Fox News contributed to this report. Brooke Singman is a political reporter for Fox News Digital. She can be reached at [email protected] or @BrookeSingman on Twitter.
