Huge security outside federal courthouse ahead of decision on unsealing Mar-a-Lago raid affidavit
TV camera crews and national media members swarmed a Palm Beach courthouse on Thursday in anticipation of a judge’s ruling on whether to unseal an affidavit that preceded the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago this month.
Pro-Trump protesters joined into the fray, as media outlets seek to unseal information that laid the foundation for the extraordinary raid on the private Florida club where Trump lives and spends part of the year.
The affidavit would reveal the government’s claims of probable cause that a crime may have been committed relating to the removal and storage of a trove of classified material after former President Donald Trump left office.
The judge who approved the raid, and who allowed for the release of the search warrant that contained information about the trove of materials agents removed, was set to hear arguments at 1pm on releasing the foundational materials.
A view of the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, before a Federal judge holds a hearing on the motion to unseal the search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s home, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 18, 2022. A judge will rule on whether to unseal an affidavit that preceded the raid
The Justice Department is resisting the move, which is being pursued by media outlets, arguing disclosure would harm the ongoing investigation.
‘The fact that this investigation implicates highly classified materials further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm if information is disclosed to the public prematurely or improper,’ DOJ argued, pointing to the reliance on witness testimony.
Homeland Security Police officers stand guard outside the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, before a Federal judge holds a hearing on the motion to unseal the search warrant on former President Donald Trump’s home, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 18, 2022
‘Before the events of this week, not since the Nixon Administration had the federal government wielded its power to seize records from a former President in such a public fashion,’ the media outlets argued in their own filing last week.
