The Department of Justice filed a redacted version of the affidavit it used to justify its search of former President Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate in court.
The Mar-a-Lago resort is owned by former President Donald Trump.
Multiple documents have been added that are restricted/sealed until further notice, after the federal government had a noon deadline to file its redactions.
The DOJ did not comment further.
The affidavit provides a detailed justification for the FBI's search of Mar-A-Lago, which the DOJ wrote in a court filing would "serve as a road map to the government's ongoing investigation" into documents that were stored at Mar-A-Lago.
The DOJ warned that unsealing the full uncensored affidavit could compromise its investigation and discourage witnesses from cooperating, but the judge decided not to do so.
It is not clear what redactions the DOJ has made to the affidavit, but the government warned in a court filing any redactions it makes would likely be so extensive as to render the document devoid of content that would meaningfully enhance the public's understanding of these events.
The intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President's residence would justify the release of a redacted document.
It is possible that the judge could issue a ruling but wait to unseal the affidavit until the government can appeal his decision, which would mean it could be weeks or months on top of that.
After hearing further from the government, he may conclude that partial redactions will result in a meaningless disclosure.
There are compelling reasons why the affidavit should not be made public, including to protect the integrity of an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security.
While Trump has called for documents related to the raid to be made public, his attorneys have not taken a stance on whether the affidavit should be made public. On his social network Truth Social, the ex-president railed against the FBI and said he is innocent.
The FBI searched Mar-A-Lago on August 8 in connection with an ongoing investigation into Trump bringing White House documents to his Florida resort after he left office. Hundreds of classified documents and materials that had the most top- secret security clearance were included in the first part. The DOJ released the search warrant it obtained for the raid after Republicans called for greater transparency. There are 20 boxes of materials, including classified documents, that federal agents took in the search for Trump. The current legal fight over the affidavit comes after media outlets and a conservative group filed court motions asking for it to be made public.
A judge is set to release part of a search affidavit.
The FBI is investigating whether Trump violated three statutes.
The search warrant in the FBI's Trump Mar-A-Lago raid was not made public.
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