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Justice Department opposes unsealing Trump FBI raid warrant affidavit
A Justice Department lawyer Monday asked Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart to keep sealed the affidavit included with the warrant the FBI used to raid former President Donald Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, last week, arguing its public release would compromise the investigation.
Reinhart is the judge who approved the FBI's warrant for the raid and later ordered the DOJ to respond to a suit seeking the public release of the warrant. While the warrant ultimately became public, the affidavit remains sealed. The DOJ argues that releasing the document would reveal too many details about the investigation and undercut its efforts.
"If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps," the Department asserted, according to Spectrum News. "In addition, information about witnesses is particularly sensitive given the high-profile nature of this matter and the risk that the revelation of witness identities would impact their willingness to cooperate with the investigation."
"Disclosure of the government’s affidavit at this stage would also likely chill future cooperation by witnesses whose assistance may be sought as this investigation progresses, as well as in other high-profile investigations," they went on. "The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improperly."
Justice Department opposes unsealing Trump FBI raid warrant affidavit | Just The News
My comment: So much for the transparency that was promised by the DOJ.
A Justice Department lawyer Monday asked Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart to keep sealed the affidavit included with the warrant the FBI used to raid former President Donald Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, last week, arguing its public release would compromise the investigation.
Reinhart is the judge who approved the FBI's warrant for the raid and later ordered the DOJ to respond to a suit seeking the public release of the warrant. While the warrant ultimately became public, the affidavit remains sealed. The DOJ argues that releasing the document would reveal too many details about the investigation and undercut its efforts.
"If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps," the Department asserted, according to Spectrum News. "In addition, information about witnesses is particularly sensitive given the high-profile nature of this matter and the risk that the revelation of witness identities would impact their willingness to cooperate with the investigation."
"Disclosure of the government’s affidavit at this stage would also likely chill future cooperation by witnesses whose assistance may be sought as this investigation progresses, as well as in other high-profile investigations," they went on. "The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improperly."
Justice Department opposes unsealing Trump FBI raid warrant affidavit | Just The News
My comment: So much for the transparency that was promised by the DOJ.
