2 years ago
The Justice Department on Thursday moved to unseal portions of the search warrant executed at the Mar-a-Lago estate of former President Donald Trump.
“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” prosecutors revealed in a court filing connected to the search warrant.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the news moments after the department filed the motion in federal court in Florida.
“I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in the latter,” he said. Addressing criticisms of the department and FBI agents lodged by Trump and his allies, he added: “I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked.”
It was Garland’s first public statement since Monday’s search and the first public acknowledgment that the Justice Department is investigating Trump’s handling of classified presidential records. He said he couldn’t reveal much about the search warrant or about the circumstances surrounding the case. He spoke for roughly five minutes and did not take questions.
“All Americans are entitled to the evenhanded application of the law, the due process of the law and to the presumption of innocence,” said Garland. “Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations.”
The motion to unseal portions of the search warrant, including a “redacted Property Receipt listing items seized pursuant to the search” was signed by U.S. Attorney Juan Gonzalez and Jay Bratt, chief of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
English (US)