Trump raid: Important document is partially released
Created: 08/26/2022, 10:27 am
By: Nail Akkoyun
The raid on ex-President Donald Trump caused a stir.
Now the public is to see an important procedural document.
West Palm Beach/Washington DC - Following the search of the home of former US President Donald Trump, the partial disclosure of a key document in the investigation is eagerly awaited.
A Florida state judge on Thursday (Aug. 25) ordered the partial release of the document used to authorize the search warrant for Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach.
By no later than Friday noon (local time) – according to German time Friday evening (6:00 p.m. CET) – the Ministry of Justice should therefore publish a partially blackened version of the document.
Raid on Donald Trump: Document is partially blacked out
Shortly before the judge's decision on Thursday, the ministry submitted a proposal to the judge to what extent the document to protect sensitive information should be redacted.
Judge Bruce Reinhart reacted unexpectedly quickly.
He assessed the ministry's proposal in his order as appropriate, for example to protect the identity of witnesses or the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
And this version is now to be made publicly available.
After the FBI raid on Donald Trump's estate, there could be serious legal consequences for the ex-president.
Now a document is to be published in part.
(File photo) © Scott Olson/AFP
Several media had requested the publication of the document.
The Department of Justice, however, argued that this could affect future investigations and the cooperation of witnesses.
On the judge's orders, the department finally drew up its proposal for redactions.
It remains to be seen how extensive these are and how meaningful the document actually is.
"Top Secret": Unclear what exactly the FBI found in Donald Trump
The FBI searched Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in early August.
The background is the Republican's handling of documents from his tenure as President.
The FBI seized several top secret documents.
According to this, the agents in Trump's property found, among other things, a set of documents classified as "Top Secret/SCI", which may only be viewed in special government institutions.
Four of the confiscated sets of documents were classified as "Top Secret", three more as "Secret" and the remaining three as "Confidential".
In view of the immense interest and great pressure on the Justice Department in the sensitive case, Department Chief Merrick Garland had initiated the publication of the search warrant and the receipt for the confiscated items.
However, US media demanded the release of further procedural documents in court.
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USA: Donald Trump accuses Joe Biden of FBI raid
Searching the home of a former president is considered unprecedented in US history.
Trump sharply criticized the action and accused the government of his Democratic successor Joe Biden of abusing the FBI for political purposes.
Trump has been fueling speculation for weeks that he could soon announce an application as a candidate for the next presidential election in just over two years.
The Republican saw the search as an attempt to prevent him from running again as a candidate in 2024.
Trump claims all documents were declassified, meaning the secrecy has been lifted.
However, since he kept the records at his private estate, he may have broken the law.
This is now being investigated.
(nak/dpa)
