Judge Bruce Reinhart, the magistrate judge who approved the warrant on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, admitted that the raid was “unprecedented” and formally rejected the Biden administration’s argument to keep the warrant affidavit under seal, citing the “intense public and historical interest.”
In a filing Monday morning, Reinhart said he rejects “the Government’s argument that the present record justifies keeping the entire Affidavit under seal.”
Related: Why Don’t the Twitter Censors Want Anyone Talking About the FBI Raid on Mar-a-Lago?
“The Government argues that even requiring it to redact portions of the Affidavit that could not reveal agent identities or investigative sources and methods imposes an undue burden on its resources and sets a precedent that could be disruptive and burdensome in future cases,” Reinhart wrote. “I do not need to reach the question of whether, in some other case, these concerns could justify denying public access; they very well might.”
“Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the Government has not yet shown that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing,” Reinhart added.
Reinhart has given the Justice Department an “opportunity to propose redaction,” with a deadline of Thursday, August 25, at noon.
Reinhart’s role in approving the raid has come under fire due to his apparent bias against Trump.
Despite this development, it seems likely that nothing substantive will be revealed in a redacted affidavit. The Department of Justice previously indicated that “the redactions necessary to mitigate harms to the integrity of the investigation would be so extensive as to render the remaining unsealed text devoid of meaningful content, and the release of such a redacted version would not serve any public interest.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member