FBI Affidavit Lays Out Reasons, Concerns for Trump House Operation

First modification: 08/26/2022 – 23:27

A redacted and abridged version of the FBI affidavit was published this Friday, August 26, and provided details about the reasons that led to the search of Donald Trump’s property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

In it they revealed the concern of the current government authorities regarding the documents that were present in the residence. Of the 15 boxes collected, 14 contained classified documents, including top secret content.

On the first page of the affidavit – the document that is presented before a judge to obtain a search warrant – the FBI wrote that “the Government is conducting a criminal investigation into the removal and improper storage of classified information in spaces unauthorized, as well as the illegal concealment or elimination of government records”.

Inside the boxes, officials came across 184 documents with classification marks, 25 of them listed as top secret. The batch of 15 boxes is linked to those recovered by the National Archives and Records Administration in January, not to the recent August search.

This edition of the affidavit comes after Judge Bruce Reinhart requested a redacted and publishable version on Thursday given the public interest in the investigation. The decision to reveal parts of a document that normally remains sealed during an inquest was a surprising decision by the magistrate.

Fragments that may hinder the proper course of the case or that may endanger “the security and privacy of a significant number of civilian witnesses” are still hidden, justified the Department of Justice in a separate brief.

Federal agents are studying potential violations of three federal laws by Trump, including one that addresses the collection, transmission or loss of defense information under the Espionage Act.

Reinhart said he was satisfied that “the Government has met its burden to show that the proposed redactions are narrowly designed to serve the legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”

Trump accused innocence and persecution

The former president of the United States reacted to the disclosure of the edited version of the document that detailed the reasons that justified the search of his Florida mansion and asserted that it is “a political attack.”

“I did not do anything wrong. We have been attacked, raided. They took many, many FBI agents, all just before the mid-term elections, ”she attacked through her social network ‘Truth Social’.

Trump, who criticized that the published affidavit was “heavily edited,” also took aim at Judge Reinhart. “I should never have allowed a home invasion,” he said.

In addition, he accused him of being impartial, recalling that two months ago he was released from a case due to “animosity and hatred.”

“They took things that should never have been taken. It is a disgrace for our country that never ends. They filter it to the same places and to the same people. Our country is a mess,” he concluded.

with AP