WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Monday objected to the public release of affidavits used to justify a search of former President Donald J. Trump’s home in Florida, saying the release of the affidavit would “impressive” influence future investigative steps” and “potentially chill” cooperation with witnesses.
In a 13-page plea, filed in a federal court in southern Florida in response to a request by The New York Times and other news organizations to make the evidence contained in the document public, Prosecutors argued that the department had carried out an extensive and in-depth investigation. Trump’s handling of some of the most secret government documents after he left office.
Prosecutors admitted to interviewing witnesses involved in the investigation into Trump’s retention of documents. They also wrote that the release of the document could affect the continuation of the investigation.
“The release of government affidavits at this stage would likely reduce the future cooperation of witnesses who may seek assistance in this investigation,” the prosecutors wrote. evolution”. They added that releasing the affidavit could also harm “other high-profile investigations”.
One of the reasons proposed by the government not to release affidavits is to protect the identities of witnesses against death threats. On Monday, prosecutors in Pennsylvania did not seal the charges against a man accused of repeatedly threatening to kill FBI agents in the days after Mr. Trump’s property was ransacked.
The magistrate judge who signed the search warrant, Bruce E. Reinhart, will ultimately decide whether the affidavit should be released. It is not clear when he will issue a ruling at the request of the media.
The legal – and political – aftershocks from the search are still reverberating a week after FBI agents showed up at the resort while the president was at his club in Bedminster, NJ
Mr. Trump, who has accused Attorney General Merrick B. Garland of conducting a politically motivated “witch hunt” and trespassing on his family’s property, claimed Monday that the government “has hit stole my three Passports”, in a post on Truth Social, the online platform he founded.
Late on Monday, the Justice Department acknowledged the error and contacted Mr. Trump’s legal team to recover three passports – two of which were expired and the third was a valid diplomatic passport. force, according to one of the former president’s attorneys, Evan Corcoran, and a spokesman. For parts.
In a statement late Monday, the FBI said that it “follows search and seizure procedures required by the court, and then returns items that do not need to be held for law enforcement purposes.” .”
What we consider before using anonymous sources.
How do sources know the information? What is their motivation to tell us? Have they proven reliable in the past? Can we verify the information? Even if these questions are satisfied, The Times still uses anonymous sources as a last resort. Reporters and at least one editor know the source’s identity.
Mr. Garland agreed last week to issue the subpoena used to search Mr. Trump’s private club, but resisted an attempt to make public the basic affidavit, a much more sensitive document that should contain, among other things, the reasons the agents Prosecutors believe there may be a cause as evidence of a crime can be found at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
The investigation into the mishandling of government documents, although known for months, is not considered as important as the department’s pervasive investigation into the Capitol attack, which is drawing closer to the end of the year. Mr. Trump and his top advisers.
Federal agents removed top-secret documents when they searched Trump’s residence last week as part of an investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act and other laws , according to a search warrant announced on Friday.
At least one lawyer said Trump signed a written statement in June asserting that all documents marked as classified and kept in boxes in a storage area at Mar-a-Lago have been returned. to the government, four people with knowledge of the document said.
Even as the former president counters, new details have emerged of how Mr Trump and his inner circle have surpassed the standards, and possibly laws, governing their handling of government records. .
According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Trump and chief of staff Mark Meadows, who oversaw the presidential dossier during the administration’s chaotic final days, failed in their efforts to collect, box and deliver it. documents to the National Archives – as previous presidents, and Mr. Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, have done so.
Instead, they often focus on resolving political grievances and personal animosities, they say.
In the weeks before Mr. Trump left the White House, officials discussed what to do with documents he had at various points brought to the residence and needed to be properly stored and returned.
Then, the staff secretary, Derek Lyons, known for trying to keep systems in place, left the regulator. Mr. Meadows said he would address such issues, according to a senior administration official.
While all of this is happening, a very different scenario is playing out just across West Executive Avenue, in Mr. Pence’s less frenetic office.
As Mr. Trump sought to stay in power, two of Mr. Pence’s senior aides – Marc Short, his chief of staff, and Greg Jacob, his adviser – indexed and boxed all of his government papers. , according to three knowledgeable former officials. of job.
Mr. Jacob spent most of his final days in government preparing the final boxes, with the goal of ensuring that Mr. Pence left office without a single piece of paper that did not belong to him, one of official said.
