WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (NewsNation) — The Justice Department on Friday made public a heavily redacted version of the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate.
Despite being redacted, the affidavit contains additional details about an ongoing criminal investigation into classified documents being stored at Trump’s Palm Beach property after he left the White House.
According to the 38-page affidavit, 14 of the 15 boxes recovered from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year contained documents with classification markings.
“184 unique docmnents [sic] bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET,” the affidavit states.
The affidavit says investigators believed documents were being kept in a storage room, the first lady’s residential suit, Pine Hall, the “45 Office” and other spaces on the premises not authorized for storage of classified information or national defense information.
According to the affidavit, several of the documents also contained what appeared to be the former president’s “handwritten notes.”
The department released the document by a noon Friday deadline ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart.
It was expected that large chunks of the text would be redacted, blacked-out portions the DOJ wants to keep secret. The DOJ had tried to keep the affidavit sealed, saying the investigation is currently ongoing and releasing it could hamper investigators’ efforts.
Also released was a supporting document explaining which areas of the affidavit are redacted.
The service that provides electronic public access to federal court records briefly crashed in the rush to access the affidavit.
View the redacted Mar-a-Lago search affidavit below:
Redacted Mar-a-Lago Search Document by NewsNation Digital on Scribd
Trump reacted to the release of the affidavit on his social media platform Truth Social, saying, “Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on “Nuclear,” a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ.”
Trump again called the FBI search a “Break-In of my home.”
News organizations had pushed for the document’s release, seeking additional details about what led FBI officials to search Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8.
Documents already made public as part of the investigation show that the FBI retrieved from the property 11 sets of classified documents, including information marked at the top secret level.
A release of the search warrant helped paint a picture of the possible crimes authorities believe Trump may have committed, including violating the Espionage Act.
The National Archives and Records Administration recovered more than 100 documents bearing classified markings, totaling more than 700 pages, from an initial batch of 15 boxes retrieved from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, according to government correspondence with the Trump legal team newly made public.
Trump has urged the release of the unredacted affidavit and has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government following what he calls an “un-American break-in.”
Trump and his legal team claim all of the documents were declassified and rightfully in his possession. The fact the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago indicates authorities do not believe that claim to be true.
The release of the redacted affidavit comes as a new NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll found that most Americans approve of the FBI’s search of Trump’s estate. More than 93% of Democrats and 61% of independents surveyed said they somewhat or strongly approve of the FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida home, compared to just 30% of Republicans who said the same.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates
