In the US, all those who want to know more about the search of ex-President Trump can hope. A judge is now ordering the documents on which the FBI acted be released – albeit with redactions that are still unknown.
In the legal dispute surrounding the search of the property of ex-US President Donald Trump, the public should at least have some insight into the basis on which the action was ordered. A Florida judge ordered the partial release of the document authorizing the search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach home. The Ministry of Justice should therefore publish a partially blackened version of the document by Friday noon (local time) at the latest.
The ministry had presented the judge with a proposal on Thursday to what extent the document to protect sensitive information should be blacked out. Judge Bruce Reinhart reacted unexpectedly quickly and rated the Ministry’s proposal in his order as sufficient to protect the identity of witnesses or the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
Several media outlets, including the New York Times, had requested publication of the document. Several Republican politicians had also called for this. The Department of Justice, on the other hand, initially argued that this could affect future investigations and the cooperation of witnesses. However, on the judge’s order, the department finally put together its proposal for blacking out. How extensive these will be – and how meaningful the document will be is unclear.
The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in early August. The background was Trump’s handling of documents from his tenure. Among other things, the FBI confiscated several sets of documents classified as top secret. It’s very unusual for investigators to search the home of an ex-president. Trump criticized the actions of the authorities against him as politically motivated and defended himself with a lawsuit.