The Justice Department wants it kept sealed, saying its probe of Trump’s handling of «highly classified material» would be compromised. Trump has called for its release.
The Associated Press, The New York Times, The , The Wall Street Journal, CBS and the other broadcast TV networks, CNN and others want U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart to release the affidavit over , which says its investigation of Trump’s handling of «highly classified material» would be compromised.
The media companies argue the affidavit’s release would help the public determine if the Justice Department had legitimate reasons for the search or if it was part of a Biden administration vendetta against Trump, as the former president and his backers contend. Trump, in a Truth Social post last week, called for the release of the unredacted affidavit in the interest of transparency.
«The matter is one of utmost public interest, involving the actions of current and former government officials,» wrote attorney Carol Jean LoCiero, who is representing the Times and others. «President Trump decried the the search as an ‘assault that could only take place in Third World Countries,’ asserted agents ‘even broke into my safe,’ and otherwise challenged the validity of the search.»
Justice Department attorneys argued in a court filing that its investigation into Trump’s handling of «highly classified material» is ongoing and that the document contains sensitive information about witnesses.
