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 on Thursday 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.
Significance is unclear
Several media had requested the publication of the document. 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 orders, 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 criticizes the actions of the authorities against him as politically motivated and defends himself with a lawsuit.
