A federal judge on Thursday ordered the affidavit that was used to justify the search warrant on former President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago be unsealed by noon ET on Friday with the government’s redactions.
The judge said the government had met its obligations to justify the redactions. Several media organizations, including CBS News, have pushed for the affidavit’s release. Trump has also called publicly for the affidavit to be released, although his lawyers have not entered court proceedings as interested parties.
The Justice Department submitted its redacted version to the court. The affidavit likely contains more information about government investigators’ concerns regarding the documents allegedly held at Mar-a-Lago.
The FBI searched Trump’s primary residence at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 as part of an investigation into his handling of presidential records since leaving office. On Aug. 12, the search warrant was unsealed, along with an inventory of materials seized, which included 11 sets of classified documents.
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Earlier this week, Trump and his attorneys filed a motion before a different judge for a special master to be named to review the documents taken from Mar-a-Lago. They argued the special master – a court-appointed monitor – is necessary to protect the former president’s constitutional rights.
Trump’s attorneys also asked that the Justice Department provide them with a more detailed accounting of what the FBI took from his Florida resort and return any property not within the scope of the search warrant.
The National Archives and Records Administration said in January that it had received 15 boxes of presidential materials, some of which contained classified national security material, from Mar-a-Lago, and asked the Justice Department to look into the matter.
Robert Legare contributed to this report.
