Decision on whether or not to unseal the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago will be made by a federal magistrate
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — On Thursday afternoon, a federal magistrate in West Palm Beach will hear arguments regarding whether or not to unseal all of the paperwork that was included in the Mar-a-Lago search warrant. The Mar-a-Lago search warrant was executed on August 8 at the Palm Beach property of former President Donald Trump.
A number of news organizations, including the parent company of WPTV, have made a request for the aforementioned information.
The hearing on this request to unseal the papers is set to take place on Thursday at one o’clock in the afternoon in the courtroom of Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart.
On Friday of last week, a judge made public a list of items that were confiscated from Mar-a-Lago by federal investigators. The list included several papers that were designated top secret and highly classified.
But the affidavit of probable cause that accompanied the warrant has yet to be made public, and it may provide insight into why the FBI was so anxious to enter Mar-a-Lago and confiscate the items they did.
The Department of Justice opposes the release of the affidavit, claiming that it might compromise any pending or future lawsuit. On the other hand, the media is of the opinion that there is a strong argument for the public to know why all of this is taking place.
A number of Republican lawmakers, including Trump, have demanded that the affidavit that was used to justify the search of the former president’s house be made public.
According to a former federal judge who served in South Florida, there are legitimate reasons why some of that information needs to be kept hidden from the public.
“There are issues here. There could be a confidential informant. So there would be concerns about maybe naming the confidentially of that individual’s identity, and in the current atmosphere, I understand there is a potential for violence,” Ursula Ungaro said.
Reinhart gave his approval to the search request, and as a result, he has been the target of harsh criticism from Trump’s followers in politics and the media.
Additionally, Palm Beach Gardens police verified that they are aware of threats against Reinhart and his place of worship.
According to an ex-FBI agent who now works as an attorney for criminal defendants, Reinhart’s decision has the potential to affect a large number of other pending federal cases.
In a recent filing, the Department of Justice said that releasing an affidavit would likely stop witnesses from cooperating in the future and that if released, the affidavit would serve as a road map to the government’s ongoing investigation.
The media companies believe that the Department of Justice should be satisfied with limited redactions based on material and approved by the court.
According to former FBI Agent Stuart Kaplan, who is now a criminal defense attorney, “The government’s inherent interest in protecting not only this investigation but the integrity of their methods and sources is first and foremost.”
Kaplan said that he would be shocked if Reinhart were to unseal the affidavit.
“I think it’s fraught with such danger because if, in fact, this judge sets these precedents to release it, then I think you’re opening up the floodgates for other people that have either been the target of a search warrant or other people who are charged with crimes who have not gotten the affidavit, now may open the floodgates to litigate that,” said Kaplan.
Kaplan also said that he thinks the Department of Justice would immediately submit an appeal if Reinhart ordered to unseal the affidavit.
