Flag-waving MAGA protesters surround the West Palm Beach courthouse in heavy security as the judge prepares to decide whether to unseal the Mar-a-Lago raid affidavit
- News outlets are asking a judge to unseal additional footage
- The government has already released the search warrant it received
- Trump attorney Christina Bobb, who was present at the raid earlier this month, said she plans to be in the courtroom
- US Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the warrant, is presiding
TV camera crews and national media representatives flocked to a Palm Beach federal courthouse on Thursday awaiting a judge’s decision on whether to unseal an affidavit that preceded this month’s FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
Pro-Trump protesters joined the fight as media tried to unseal information laying the groundwork for the extraordinary raid on the private Florida club where Trump lives and spends part of the year.
Trucks with Gadsden, US and Trump 2024 flags were on display circle The area.
The affidavit would reveal the government’s claims about the probable cause that a crime related to the removal and storage of a trove of classified information may have been committed after former President Donald Trump left office.
The judge who authorized the raid and allowed the release of the search warrant, which contained information about the finding of materials removed by agents, was scheduled to hear arguments about the release of the basic materials at 1 p.m.
A view of the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and the U.S. Courthouse before a federal judge holds a hearing on a request to unseal the search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s home in West Palm Beach, Florida, August 18, 2022 . A The judge will decide whether to unseal an affidavit that preceded the raid
The Justice Department opposes the move, which is being pursued by the media, arguing that disclosure would harm ongoing investigations.
“The fact that this investigation involves highly classified material underscores the need to protect the integrity of the investigation and exacerbates the potential for harm when information is prematurely or improperly disclosed to the public,” the DOJ argued, citing reliance on eyewitness testimony.
Homeland Security officers stand guard outside the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and the U.S. Courthouse before a federal judge begins a hearing August 18 in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. on a request to unseal the search warrant on the former president’s home Donald Trump holds off, 2022
“Prior to the events of this week, not since the Nixon administration, had the federal government exercised its power to so publicly confiscate records from a former president,” the media argued in its own filing last week.
Trump attorney Christina Bobb, who was present at the raid earlier this month, said she plans to be in the courtroom overseen by US Judge Bruce Reinhart.
Homeland Security officers stand guard outside Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and the US Courthouse amid media interest in the case.
It came on a day when Allen Weisselberg, CFO of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of tax and financial fraud in a New York courthouse, just the latest in a series of legal developments embroiling Trump World.