Prosecutors Oppose Releasing Affidavit of FBI Raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago Home

They argue that such a move could cause "irreparable damage" to their investigation.

Image used for representation only. Former President Donald Trump gestures as he departs Trump Tower, Wednesday, 10 August 2022, in New York, on his way to the New York attorney general's office for a deposition in a civil investigation.

(Photo: AP/PTI)

Prosecutors in the US Department of Justice said on Monday, 15 August, opposed the releasing of details about the search warrant used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to raid former US Preident Donald Trump's Florida home last week.

It stated that such a move could cause "irreparable damage" to its investigation.

The search warrant used was made public last Friday, 12 August. Prosecutors, however, deem the move to be extremely dangerous believing that the affidavit has "highly sensitive information about witnesses, including witnesses interviewed by the government; specific investigative techniques; and information required by law to be kept under seal" as per federal rules.

"If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation," the DoJ stated, "providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps."

Prosecutors also believe that if information such as witness identities are released, the ability and overall willingness to cooperate in this investigation would go down dramatically.

They reportedly considered providing a redacted version to news outlets, but decided against it due to the fact that "the redactions necessary to mitigate harms to the integrity of the investigation would be so extensive as to render the remaining unsealed text devoid of meaningful content."

The raid was originally conducted in order to see whether or not Trump had mishandled classified government files after he departed from the White House.

Trump had responded raid by posting on his social media platform Truth Social by calling it "an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country. Third World!"

As confirmed by a law enforcement official to CBS News, three of Trump's passports were seized, two being expired and one being his current and active diplomatic passport.

Additionally, over 20 boxes, many containing documents dubbed as classified, were also seized from the area.

(With inputs from Reuters and the New York Times.)