U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the FBI's August 8 search of former President Donald Trump's Palm Beach resort, yesterday indicated that he is inclined to release a redacted version of the affidavit supporting that warrant. Depending on how extensive the redactions are, that step could help answer lingering questions about the justification for the search, during which the FBI seized 11 sets of documents marked as classified. The affidavit also could clarify the viability of criminal charges against Trump or his underlings for taking and keeping those documents, along with other material that was not classified but belonged in the National Archives.
After several news organizations asked Reinhart to unseal the affidavit, the Justice Department argued that doing so would expose sensitive information and compromise the FBI's ongoing investigation. During a hearing on the issue yesterday, Reinhart said it was "very important," given the controversy over the FBI's investigation, that the public see as much information as feasible. He later wrote that the government has "not met its burden of showing that the entire affidavit should remain sealed." He asked the Justice Department to propose redactions by next Thursday.
