The Department of Justice Thursday released the portion of the executed search warrant to It moved to unpack earlier this week at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
"The public's clear and strong interest in understanding what happened under these circumstances strongly supports breaking the seal," the prosecutor said in a search warrant. made clear in court filings related to
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the news shortly after the department filed a complaint in federal court in Florida.
search warrant for the latter," he said. Said. Addressing criticisms of the agency and FBI agents filed by Trump and his supporters, he added:
It is unclear how quickly Florida Magistrate Justice Bruce Reinhart will respond to the Justice Department's motion to open the warrant. The filing noted that the motion was an "absentee objection by former President Trump" and could either support or try to prevent the release of the warrant.
It was Garland's first public statement since Monday's raid and the first public acknowledgment that the Justice Department is investigating the president's handling of classified records. He declined to reveal much about the search warrant or the circumstances surrounding the case. He spoke for about five minutes and took no questions.
"All Americans are entitled to the fair application of the laws, due process of law, and the presumption of innocence," said Garland. It is necessarily done out of the public eye, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
A motion to open a portion of the search warrant, which includes "redacted property receipts listing the items that were stolen," was signed by U.S. Attorney General Juan Gonzalez and Jay Bratt, Chief of the Department of Justice's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. was done.
The only mention in the DOJ motion to the subject of an investigation is her Christina, one of Trump's attorneys. It was a direct quote from Bobb.told The New York Times that the search was for "presidential records or material believed to be classified." It was Trump himself who was the first to publicly acknowledge the search, and it was his agent who issued a statement characterizing what the agent was seeking.
"So the occurrence of the search and the indications of the subject involved have already been made public," Gonzalez and Bratt wrote in the filing. Likewise, Garland said it was the first time Trump had spoken publicly after admitting to an FBI investigation. The National Archives said in February it had raised concerns about the missing records and confirmed it had referred the matter to prosecutors.
Trump's supporters argued that Trump's lawyers were with Trump himself when the DOJ, Trump's lawyers, and investigators visited Mar-a-Lago in June. 3.
Since the search, Republicans have been unaware of the basis for Garland and the FBI's actions. Regardless, he attacked Garland and the FBI as a political hatchet and put together a vehement defense of the former president. Some are calling for Garland's impeachment, while others simply vow to launch a thorough investigation of the Department if the Republicans regain a majority in January.
