Redacted Affidavit Released by DOJ Justified Raid at Trump’s Home

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had released a redacted copy of the affidavit that persuaded the FBI to raid the former U.S. President Donald Trump’s home Mar-a-Lago in Florida, on the 8th of August. The FBI found records containing classified documents, including records relating to national defense information, at Trump’s residence that he was supposed to return after his tenure and failed to give back despite multiple requests. By law, when a President departs from office after his tenure, the classified records must be handed over to the National archives.

A Federal judge, Bruce Reinhart, had ordered the documents to be released in the public’s interest as the investigation involved a former President. Adversely, DOJ was against releasing the affidavit as it contained susceptible facts about the ongoing criminal investigation of Trump. The Judge accepted DOJ’s arguments to mask significant portions of the document, so out of the 32 pages of the affidavit, 21 pages were blacked out.

According to the affidavit, the records found by the FBI in Trump’s possession were 184 documents marked “classified”; 67 marked “confidential”; 92 marked “secret”; and 25 marked “top secret.”

After the raid at his home, Trump denounced the FBI and said he was a victim of a political attack by the Biden administration against the Republican front-runner in the 2024 Presidential race. On Monday, Trump filed a lawsuit in court urging to name an independent party to screen files that the FBI seized in the raid.

“The political Hacks and Thugs had no right under the Presidential Records Act to storm Mar-a-Lago and steal everything in sight, including Passports and privileged documents,” Trump said in a social media post earlier Friday morning.