Last week the judge in the case overseeing the FBI raid on Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago suggested he would unseal the affidavit and ordered the DOJ to suggest redaction by this coming Thursday.
Well apparently that wasn’t good enough for the DOJ because they filed another motion to keep the affidavit sealed.
Today the judge responded, denying their motion and ordering them to continue with the redactions.
Here’s what Judge Reinhart wrote:
The Government argues that even requiring it to redact portions of the Affidavit that could not reveal agent identities or investigative sources and methods imposes an undue burden on its resources and sets a precedent that could be disruptive and burdensome in future cases. I do not need to reach the question of whether, in some other case, these concerns could justify denying public access; they very well might. Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the Government has not yet shown that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing.
I therefore reject the Government’s argument that the present record justifies keeping the entire Affidavit under seal. In its Response, the Government asked that I give it an opportunity to propose redactions if I declined to seal the entire Affidavit. I granted that request and gave the Government a deadline of noon on Thursday, August 25, 2022. ECF No. 74. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that by the deadline, the Government shall file under seal a submission addressing possible redactions and providing any additional evidence or legal argument that the Government believes relevant to the pending Motions to Unseal.
The judge seems intent on releasing the affidavit because of the “intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence”, which is a good thing.
I just hope he’s this vigilant when it comes to the redactions. I don’t care if names are redacted and replaced with Agent 1, Agent 2 and so forth. What I want to see is the true reason for the raid, which the government really wants to keep hidden from the public.