Former President Donald Trump put the Justice Department on blast for heavily redacting large swaths of the affidavit for the Aug. 8 Mar-a-Lago raid released to the public Friday.
Trump also disparaged Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who green-lit both the release of the affidavit and the bombshell search and seizure at his Florida home.
REDACTED AFFIDAVIT JUSTIFYING FBI’S TRUMP MAR-A-LAGO RAID IS RELEASED
“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 in a post to his Truth Social platform.
Shortly after the unprecedented August search, reports surfaced that officials sought to raid Mar-a-Lago in pursuit of classified material pertaining to nuclear weapons. Large portions of the affidavit were redacted, but at one point, it notes that documents previously seized from Mar-a-Lago contained items that appear to relate to “National Defense Information.”
“The FBI’s investigation has established that documents bearing classification markings, which appear to contain National Defense Information, were among the materials contained in the FIFTEEN BOXES and were stored at the PREMISES in an unauthorized location,” the affidavit read.
NEW: 14 out of 15 boxes at Mar-a-Lago contained classified information, according to the Trump search affidavit, which DOJ just released in redacted form. 92 documents were marked “SECRET” and 25 documents were “TOP SECRET” pic.twitter.com/KRVmwGG34m
— Shannon Vavra (@shanvav) August 26, 2022
In January, following months of back-and-forth between Trump’s team and National Archives and Records Administration officials, the agency gathered roughly 15 boxes of presidential material from Mar-a-Lago. Upon review of the trove, officials discovered material that appeared to have classified markings and referred the matter to the DOJ, which initiated an inquiry that led to the August raid.
Trump also took aim at Reinhart, arguing that it was wrong for him to approve the August search warrant.
“Judge Bruce Reinhart should NEVER have allowed the Break-In of my home. He recused himself two months ago from one of my cases based on his animosity and hatred of your favorite President, me. What changed? Why hasn’t he recused himself on this case? Obama must be very proud of him right now!,” the former president wrote.
Reinhart had recused himself from a Trump suit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and others in a June filing, Newsweek reported. The judge’s recusal has led to speculation as to why he was unable to preside over that case, but could fairly rule over the court proceedings pertaining to the Mar-a-Lago raid.
DOJ officials had fought in court to keep the affidavit out of the public’s eye, but on Thursday, Reinhart ultimately ordered the department to divulge the highly anticipated document to the public by noon on Friday. Trump and others had supported the release of the affidavit.
A judge previously unsealed a search warrant application cover sheet for the raid, which was originally filed on Aug. 5. The warrant revealed that Trump was being investigated for possibly violating the Espionage Act.
During the raid on Mar-a-Lago, plainclothes FBI agents reportedly collected 26 boxes of material that included documents with classified markings. The raid sent shockwaves across America, with many conservatives outraged.
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Trump has vehemently denied wrongdoing, insisting he declassified the material taken. He decried the raid as an “unAmerican break-in” and insinuated it was done to thwart his speculated 2024 presidential aspirations.
The former president has filed a motion in court pursuing the appointment of a special master to review the materials confiscated from Mar-a-Lago in August. He also asked the court to block the DOJ from combing through the seized material.
