In pursuance of the order From a Florida judge, the U.S. Justice Department on Friday released a redacted (redacted) version of the document that led the FBI to search and seize documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. .
These are significant parts of some 23 pages of the document -of a total of 38 pages- and that after some have been crossed out, it remained in 11 redacted pages.
“The government is conducting a criminal investigation into the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the illegal concealment or removal of government records,” describes an FBI agent about the context to support the home search .
The affidavit does not provide new details about the classified documents recovered during the Aug. 8 search at Mar-a-Lago, but instead refers to a separate batch of 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration recovered from the home of Trump in January.
The document indicates that the 15 boxes that were seized at Mar-a-Lago by the FBI “contained, among other things, highly classified documents interspersed with other records.”
Part of what the investigative bureau is looking for, explains the document revealed by Justice, is to elucidate how the documents were removed from the White House and whether or not it was an authorized place to which they were taken.
The FBI is also attempting to “identify anyone who has removed or retained classified information without authorization and/or in an unauthorized space.”
The investigation in Palm Beach raised the tone in a chain of investigations that have been carried out against former President Trump since he left office, and among which are his responsibility or not in having been able to stop his supporters when they attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
This step marked a significant escalation in one of the many federal and state investigations Trump has faced since his time in office and in private dealings. The former Republican president has suggested that he could run again for the White House.
Federal Judge Bruce Reinhart, the same one who had approved the order that led to the FBI record from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on August 8, ordered the redacted affidavit unsealed by noon (1600 GMT) on Friday.
*VOA reporter Celia Mendoza from West Palm Beach, Florida contributed to this report.
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