Donald Trump FBI raid: Parts of Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit have been unsealed

The highly-anticipated release of the FBI’s affidavit to justify its raid of Donald Trump’s Florida mansion crashed the US’s federal court system website amid massive interest.

A heavily-redacted copy of the affidavit used to justify the stunning FBI raid of Donald Trump’s Florida mansion has been released.

Intense interest in the document caused the federal court’s website to crash.

While un-redacted version of the affidavit likely explains what the department is investigating and its sources, the version released by the deadline Friday local time blacked out key details.

The former president lashed out at the

“Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on ’Nuclear’,” he said on social media, referencing anonymous leaks the documents contained nuclear secrets.

FBI agents raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on August 8, seizing boxes containing a large amount of highly classified documents that Trump kept locked in a basement.

Officers are seen in front of the home of former US President Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: AFP

But Judge Bruce Reinhart accepted Justice Department arguments that there was a “compelling” need to mask significant portions of the document.

The warrant for the raid cited three criminal statutes, including one falling under the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to illegally obtain or retain national security information, and another on obstruction of a federal investigation.

The 38-page affidavit to justify the warrant said: “The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorised spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records.”

The name of the FBI agent who filed the affidavit was one of the first details redacted, with many unanswered questions about the raid covered by blacked-out sections.

Officials say 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level, were retrieved during the raid.

Donald Trump lashed out after the FBI affidavit was heavily redacted. Picture: AFP

The redacted affidavit is also said to have masked the identities of witnesses and key details about the “strategy, direction, scope, sources and methods” of the investigation that sparked a huge political firestorm.

In response, Trump said the US was a lawless country and failing nation.

“The political Hacks and Thugs had no right under the Presidential Records Act to storm Mar-a-Lago and steal everything in sight, including Passports and privileged documents,” Trump said on social media.

“They even broke into my safe with a safecracker - Can you believe?”

FBI RAID AFFIDAVIT TO BE RELEASED

It comes after a court ruled the in favour of the release of a redacted version of the search warrant affidavit the FBI used in its raid on former US President Donald Trump’s Florida mansion.

Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was searched on August 8 and documents seized by FBI agents who said they were looking for “classified information” – but the exact details of the search remains unclear.

But a Florida judge has ruled the Justice Department should make public a redacted version of the affidavit by Saturday (Australia time).

In a two-page order, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said he had accepted the government’s redacted version of the affidavit, which it filed under seal on Thursday.

Judge Reinhart, who approved the search warrant authorising the raid, said the government had not justified keeping the full affidavit under wraps.

His order stated the DoJ “has met its burden of showing a compelling reason/good cause to seal portions of the Affidavit” that would reveal information about witnesses, grand jury information, or the “strategy, direction, scope, sources, and methods” of the probe into whether the 45th president illegally retained classified information.

Former US President Donald Trump declined to answer questions under oath in New York over alleged fraud at his family business, as legal pressures pile up for the former president whose house was raided by the FBI days before. Picture: AFP

The judge also said the DOJ’s proposed redactions were “narrowly tailored” and represented “the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire Affidavit.”

Search warrant affidavits typically contain vital information from police explaining why they want to search a property and why they believe they are likely to find evidence of a potential crime there.

But in a sign not all of the details in the warrant would be released, Judge Reinhart warned the extent of the government’s approved redactions could render the document “meaningless.”

The “intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence” were given as grounds for releasing a redacted version of the affidavit.

The Justice Department’s top counterintelligence official, Jay Bratt, had argued to Reinhart during a hearing last week that the affidavit should be kept sealed due to the “volatile situation with respect to this search across the political spectrum — but on one side in particular”.

Secret Service and police in front of Mar-a-Lago during the FBI raid. Picture: AFP

“The government is very concerned about the safety of the witnesses in these cases and the impact of all the attention on these witnesses on other witnesses,” he added.

Mr Trump has called for the release of the affidavit, and multiple news outlets have submitted applications seeking it.

The former president raged against the raid on Thursday, saying, “The Justice Department and FBI are ‘leaking’ at levels never seen before – and I did nothing wrong!!!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

“They illegally Raided my home, and took things that should not have been taken. They even broke into my safe, an unthinkable act!” he said.

Mr Trump claims the FBI raid was “illegal”. Picture: AFP

Federal agents took 27 boxes from Mar-a-Lago, including 11 sets of classified documents that were labelled top secret, secret, or confidential.

The warrant authorised the FBI to seize “all physical documents and records constituting evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed.”

The warrant also indicated that Mr Trump was being investigated for potentially violating three federal laws pertaining to official records, including the Espionage Act of 1917 — a law used in recent years to justify harsh sanctions, including against whistleblowers.

Mr Trump and his lawyers have said the former president used his power to declassify the now-seized material before leaving the White House in January 2021.

-with the New York Post and AFP

Originally published as Donald Trump FBI raid: Parts of Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit have been unsealed