Major media companies seeking release of Mar-a-Lago search affidavit

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Lawyers at many of the nation's largest media companies said Thursday afternoon that FBI agents had Search former President Donald Trump's Florida estate last week.

The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CBS, other broadcast television networks, CNN, and others have taken oaths on federal magistrate Bruce E. Reinhart on A US Justice Department objectioncalling for the release of affidavits says it will jeopardize Trump's handling of "highly classified materials."

The release of the affidavit, as the former president and his supporters allege, is a testament to whether the Justice Department had a legitimate reason for the search, or whether the Biden administration's stance against Trump. In a post on Truth Social last week, Trump called for the release of unedited affidavits for transparency.

"This issue is one of her greatest public interest involving the actions of current and former government officials," said The Times. Attorney Carol Jean LoCiero writes. others. "President Trump denounced the search as an 'attack that could only happen in a third world country' and claimed investigators 'even broke into my safe' or otherwise challenged the validity of the search.

Justice Department attorneys said in court filings that an investigation into Mr Trump's handling of "highly classified material" was ongoing, and that the documents contained confidential information about witnesses. claimed to contain information.

Miami U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez and Jay Blatt, head of the Department of Justice's National Security Agency, said releasing the affidavits would be "significant and irreparable damage to the ongoing criminal investigation." It does irreparable damage,” he said.

"The affidavit, if disclosed, would serve as a roadmap to the government's ongoing investigation, and would have been criticized for its direction and potential in a manner that would very likely undermine future investigative procedures." We will provide specific details about the courses that are available,” they wrote.

"If the court orders partial opening of the affidavit, the government will respectfully request an opportunity to provide the court with the proposed redaction," the Department of Justice said.   

As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump's attorneys have not indicated in court records that they plan to attend the hearing.

FBI agents raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion on his August 8th and removed 11 sets of classified documents. {113This included not only what was marked top secret, but also "classified information." A special category intended to protect the nation's most important secrets, which could cause "very serious" harm to Court records do not give specific details about the information that the documents may contain.

In January, National Archives officials recovered 15 of his boxes containing the president's records from his Mar-a-Lago. Some of them even contained confidential information. In July, Trump's attorneys proved to investigators that all classified material had been turned over to the National Archives.

Trump claimed last week that he had declassified all materials seized at Mar-a-Lago during his tenure. While the incumbent president has extensive declassification capabilities, House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff said in Sunday's "Face the Nation" Said he didn't see any evidence of Trump. During his tenure he declassified the material.

Furthermore, Schiff said that the power to declassify the material did not extend to the former president, and that Trump retroactively declassified the document "18 months after his in fact." He said it was "silly" to claim that He went to Mar-a-Lago.

Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton told CBS News' Robert Costa about Trump's handling of classified documents said he "worried" him. 

According to Bolton, the intelligence briefing officer brought photographs and graphs for the president to see and handed them to him.

"The president will often say, 'Well, can I have this?' ``But sometimes they forget.'' 

Earlier this year, the National Archives told the Justice Department that Mr. Trump requested to investigate the handling of the records of The National Archives also said some of the documents Trump turned over to them had been torn and re-taped   }  

On Monday, pro-Trump members of the House Judiciary Committee sent letters to senior Biden administration officials, Trump. The FBI searched his residence.