The US Justice Department on Monday objected to the release of a court document that would purportedly give the reasons that led federal investigators to conduct an unprecedented search of former President Donald Trump’s home last week.
The federal police raid on his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, has sparked a political firestorm, with Donald Trump and his supporters decrying a “witch hunt.” Several organizations, including the media, had asked a judge to make public a court document in which investigators often explain why the search was necessary.
The Justice Ministry said on Monday that such publication “would irreparably harm the ongoing criminal investigation,” according to a court document.
“Compromise the success of the next steps of the investigation”
On Friday, at the request of prosecutors this time, a judge had issued the order authorizing the search and a list of the documents seized. But, unlike the first, the document whose publication was requested this time contains “very sensitive information about witnesses”, techniques used by the police and “extremely important data about the investigation”, the ministry estimated.
Its publication could reveal the investigators’ strategy and “compromise (the success) of the next steps of the investigation,” he added.
Donald Trump, aimed at relaunching himself in the race for the White House by 2024, assured that these documents had been declassified. On Monday, stating that he saw the passports seized from him during the search, the Republican said he was the victim of an “attack on a political opponent the likes of which we have never seen in our country.”
Source: BFM TV
