Justice Department Releases Redacted Affidavit For Mar-A-Lago Raid

The Department of Justice has complied with the orders of U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart and unsealed a redacted copy of the search affidavit the FBI used to justify their raid at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of former President Donald Trump.

There were minimal redactions in the first eight pages of the 38-page document, but pages nine through 29 were almost entirely blacked out, leaving just several paragraphs unredacted. Almost all of the redactions were under the "probable cause" section of the document.

The affidavit said the Justice Department received a referral from the National Archives and Records Administration in February 2022 after the agency reviewed over a dozen boxes that had been previously turned over and found they contained "newspapers, magazines, printed news articles, photos, miscellaneous print-outs, notes, presidential correspondence, personal and postpresidential records, and 'a lot of classified records.' Of most significant concern was that highly classified records were unfolded, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly [sic] identified."

The affidavit details how agents were concerned that classified documents were not being stored in a secure location in Mar-a-Lago.

"As I previously indicated to you, Mar-a-Lago does not include a secure location authorized for the storage of classified information. As such, it appears that since the time classified documents [REDACTED] were removed from the secure facilities at the White House and moved to Mar-a-Lago on or around January 20, 2021, they have not been handled in an appropriate manner or stored in an appropriate location. Accordingly, we ask that the room at Mar-a-Lago where the documents had been stored be secured and that all of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago (along with any other items in that room) be preserved in the room in their current condition until farther notice."

The affidavit also suggested the FBI had probable cause to believe that the search could result in agents uncovering evidence of obstruction.

“There is probable cause to believe that additional documents that contain classified (National Defense Information) or that are Presidential records subject to record retention requirements currently remain at (Mar-a-Lago),” the FBI affidavit says. “There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at (Mar-a-Lago.),” the affidavit continues.

Trump responded to the release of the document on Truth Social.

"Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on “Nuclear,” a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover - WE GAVE THEM MUCH," Trump wrote.

Before releasing the document, the Justice Department laid out its reasoning for the redactions in a separate legal brief.

"If witnesses' identities are exposed, they could be subjected to harms including retaliation, intimidation, or harassment, and even threats to their physical safety," the brief explained. "As the Court has already noted, these concerns are not hypothetical in this case."

"Exposure of witnesses' identities would likely erode their trust in the government's investigation, and it would almost certainly chill other potential witnesses from coming forward in this investigation and others," the filing continued.

You can read the entire document here.