In what comes as a small victory for Donald Trump and his legion of Republican supporters, a Florida Federal judge on Thursday issued orders that portions of the affidavit that the FBI used to secure a search warrant against the former President can be made public, much to the chagrin of Department of Justice (DOJ).
Judge Bruce Reinhart in his observation after the hearing said, “I believe, at least on my initial careful review of the affidavit that there are portions that could be presumptively unsealed.”
The DOJ lawyers have time till next Thursday i.e seven days to submit the affidavit with the redacted portions. Moreover, the judge added that the Justice Department will be allowed to appeal if it doesn’t agree with his ‘redacted’ affidavit idea.
Meanwhile, DOJ chief Jay Bratt during the hearing stated that the release of the affidavit could harm the witnesses.
“The government is very concerned about the safety of the witnesses in these cases and the impact of all the attention on these witnesses on other witnesses.” Bratt told the judge.
Who has filed the motion?
It is pertinent to note that New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press are amongst the outlets that have demanded the release of the affidavit.
However, curiously enough, despite blaming the FBI and DOJ for launching a witch hunt against him, neither Trump nor his lawyers have filed any motion for the unsealing of the affidavit.
Why is US DOJ not unsealing the affidavit?
As reported by WION, on Monday, the Justice Department refused to unseal the affidavit, stating it would likely affect the investigation process.
“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 DoJ lawyers wrote in the filing.
WATCH: DoJ says cannot release details in Mar-a-Lago search warrant’s probable cause affidavit
A contrast in action from the DOJ
The decision to not unseal the affidavit was in stark contrast with the confidence shown by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who, in a rather unusual stance, publically announced that he was willing to unseal the search warrant.
Even when questioned during his brief presser last week, Garland did not give much regarding the ‘evidence’ submitted in the affidavit and used to obtain the warrant.
“Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations.” said Garland.
According to the warrant released, the FBI is circling Trump, mainly around the Espionage Act after the former President took several boxes from his White House residence to his current Florida residence after losing the elections.
Read More:Trump’s passports returned a day after former US prez claimed they were ‘stolen’ by FBI agents
(With inputs from agencies)
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