The affidavit was released on Aug 26.
QUICK FACTS:
- President Donald Trump weighed in on the affidavit used to get a search warrant on his Florida home, saying that it proves the court order shouldn’t have been approved.
- Trump stated in a post on his Truth Social platform that U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart “should NEVER have allowed the Break-In of my home.”
- Reinhart approved the warrant on Aug. 5 and the search was excited at Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 while Trump was in New York City.
- “Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on ‘Nuclear,’ a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover – WE GAVE THEM MUCH,” Trump wrote on Friday.
READ THE REDACTED AFFIDAVIT:
WHAT THE AFFIDAVIT CLAIMS:
- The affidavit asserts that Trump could have been in violation of three different laws, including those that governed the handling of classified materials and defense information.
- In the document, the FBI acknowledged that it had discussions with Trump’s attorneys between May and the time of the raid. This included a letter from a government lawyer requesting that Trump lock up a room where other documents were being kept.
- According to some unnamed sources, Mar-a-Lago had nuclear weapons-related documents seized. These claims are still up for debate.
BACKGROUND:
- The judge who approved the warrants has recused himself from a case brought against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
- The reason for his recusal was not given. However, Trump has said in the past that he “recused himself two months ago from one of my cases based on his animosity and hatred of your favorite President, me.”
- The judge also posted an anti-Trump message on Facebook while he was working as a private attorney before he joined the judiciary in 2018.
