PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Department of Justice is expected to release a redacted version of the affidavit Friday used to justify the raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Read: Trump seeks special master to review Mar-a-Lago documents
A federal judge set the timeline Thursday for when the public will get answers to why FBI agents were authorized to search and seize 11 boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago.
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“It’s an effort to strike a balance by the magistrate between on one hand the government’s desire to keep its investigation intact and the public’s interest in knowing what this is all about,” said former U.S. Attorney Jeff Robbins.
Read: Pence tells GOP to stop lashing out at FBI over Trump search
The department has until noon to release the affidavit, but the DOJ has stuck by its argument that the affidavit should not be made public, saying it is “very concerned about the safety of the witnesses,” and warning that releasing it would “jeopardize the investigation.”
The same judge who approved the search said the department has proposed redactions that protect the integrity of the investigation, which has federal prosecutors looking into potential violations by the former president’s handling of classified defense information and records.
Read: Memo sheds light on decision to clear Trump in Russia probe
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden addressed the search of Trump’s home publicly for the first time, saying he had no advance knowledge about the search.
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