WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to put forward proposed redactions as he committed to making public at least part of the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said that under the law, it is the government’s burden to show why a redacted version should not be released and prosecutors’ arguments Thursday failed to persuade him. He gave them a week to submit a copy of the affidavit proposing the information it wants to keep secret...
Boy, that's not the law I am familiar with.
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The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Judge Reinhart’s ruling, but privately, officials said they were surprised by the decision.
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Although 45th himself has called on social media for the affidavit to be released — echoing similar demands made by congressional allies like Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina — his lawyers were conspicuously absent from the legal proceeding surrounding the unsealing process. At any time, 45th could have filed papers asking Judge Reinhart to make the affidavit public, but he chose not to.
Indeed, one of 45th’s lawyers, Christina Bobb...confirmed that Mr. Trump’s legal team did not intend to get involved in the arguments about the warrant affidavit.
We anti-fascists may incline to take cheer from that last but if significant detail is revealed in the redacted copy that is ultimately released the government is absolutely correct that witnesses would be endangered and other witnesses who may have intent to cooperate would be chilled. This is a dangerous ruling by the court. How dangerous depends on how redacted.
