Justice Department Releases Redacted Mar-a-Lago Affidavit

The Department of Justice on Friday released a redacted version of the affidavit involved in its search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, complying with a federal judge’s order. 

The release came shortly after the noon deadline set by U.S. Magistrate Bruce Reinhart on Thursday. About half of the document’s pages were heavily redacted, but unredacted portions revealed that 14 of the 15 boxes recovered from Trump by the National Archives earlier this year contained 184 documents with classification markings. The affidavit also suggested that documents held at Mar-a-Lago could contain information derived from “clandestine human sources” — which could potentially compromise those sources. You can read the redacted affidavit here.

The DOJ also redacted and released the document it used to justify its affidavit redactions, which purportedly aimed to protect a “broad range of civilian witnesses,” from having their identities revealed. Fox News (Right bias) reported that the website used to publish the affidavit repeatedly crashed due to public demand shortly after the document's release. 

Coverage was widespread and initially balanced across the spectrum, with several major outlets offering live coverage. Some coverage across the spectrum said the affidavit was “finally” released. Update 2:26 p.m. ET: Added details about the affidavit's revelations and justifications.