DOJ asks judge to DENY media request to unseal Mar-a-Lago search warrant statement

The Justice Department asked a judge on Monday to keep the Mar-a-Lago search warrant sealed from the public, arguing that it contains too many confidential details about the ongoing investigation.

“The testimony will serve as a roadmap for the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course in a way that is likely to preclude further stages of the investigation,” prosecutors argued in court on Monday.

CNN and other media outlets sued the government to gain access to a statement that lays out the legal case for why the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home on Monday was necessary.

Former President Donald Trump expressed outrage over the raids on his Florida home and private club last Monday, where the receipt says boxes of confidential documents were seized.

Attorney General Merrick Garland allowed the warrant and property receipts to be released, but the Justice Department does not want the search warrants sealed, saying that could compromise the ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors had to show probable cause that a crime had been committed before a judge gave the green light to search Trump’s Florida home and private club.

The Justice Department insisted on Monday that the documents would be released “at this stage.” “Cause significant and irreparable harm to this ongoing criminal investigation.”

“Release of government testimony at this stage would also preclude future cooperation from witnesses that may be needed to assist in the course of this investigation, as well as other high-profile investigations,” the Department of Justice said.

Prosecutors also argued that publishing the redacted version would not serve the public.

“The redactions necessary to minimize damage to the integrity of the investigation would be so extensive that the remaining sealed text would have no meaningful content, and the publication of such a redacted version would not serve any public interest,” the Department of Justice said. .

On Friday, two other documents related to the search, a warrant and a property receipt, were released after Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department would go to court to approve it if Trump agreed to seal the documents. .

Trump, expressing anger at the race, said almost immediately that the documents could be released.

The property receipt listed some documents taken from Mar-a-Lago as “secret,” the highest level of classification.

The Justice Department said on Monday that it did not yet want to release additional details about the classified documents to the public.

“The fact that this investigation involves highly confidential material further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and increases the potential harm if the information is released to the public prematurely or inappropriately,” the Department of Justice said.