Attorneys for many of the nation鈥檚 largest media companies will try to persuade a federal magistrate judge on Thursday afternoon to make public the affidavit supporting the warrant that allowed FBI agents to search former President Donald Trump鈥檚 Florida estate last week.
The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the broadcast TV networks, CNN and others want U.S. Magistrate Judge to release the affidavit over the objection of the U.S. Justice Department, which says its investigation of Trump鈥檚 handling of 鈥渉ighly classified material鈥� would be compromised.
The media companies argue the affidavit鈥檚 release would help the public determine if the Justice Department had legitimate reasons for the search or if it was part of a Biden administration vendetta against Trump, as the former president and his backers contend. Trump, in a Truth Social post last week, called for the release of the unredacted affidavit in the interest of transparency.
鈥淭he matter is one of utmost public interest, involving the actions of current and former government officials,鈥� wrote attorney Carol Jean LoCiero, who is representing the Times and others.
鈥淧resident Trump decried the the search as an 鈥榓ssault that could only take place in Third World Countries,鈥� asserted agents 鈥榚ven broke into my safe,鈥� and otherwise challenged the validity of the search.鈥�
Justice Department attorneys argued in a court filing that its investigation into Trump鈥檚 handling of 鈥渉ighly classified material鈥� is ongoing and that the document contains sensitive information about witnesses.
The filing by Juan Antonio Gonzalez, the U.S. attorney in Miami, and Jay Bratt, a top Justice Department national security official, says making the affidavit public would 鈥渃ause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation.鈥�
鈥淚f disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government鈥檚 ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps,鈥� they wrote.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump鈥檚 attorneys had not indicated on the court鈥檚 docket that they plan to take part in the hearing.
FBI agents searched Trump鈥檚 Mar-a-Lago estate on Aug. 8, removing 11 sets of classified documents, with some not only marked top secret but also 鈥渟ensitive compartmented information,鈥� according to That is a special category meant to protect the nation鈥檚 most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause 鈥渆xceptionally grave鈥� damage to U.S. interests. The court records did not provide specific details about information the documents might contain.
