DOJ opposes release of affidavit used to search Trump' s Mar-a-Lago home

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DOJ opposes release of affidavit used to search Trump' s Mar-a-Lago home

Former President Trump in New York City on Aug. 10. Photo: James Devaney/GC Images The Department of Justice said Monday in a court filing that it opposes requests to unseal the affidavit used to obtain a federal judge's permission to search former President Trump's . Driving the news: In a , prosecutors said releasing the affidavit can "harm the government's ongoing criminal investigation."They won't, however, oppose the release of other sealed documents tied to the search, including cover sheets and the government's motion to seal.The Justice Department's opposition came in response to several news organizations' requests to unseal the affidavit. What they're saying: "If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a road map to the government's ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps," U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez and Justice Department counterintelligence chief Jay I. Bratt said in the filing.The document has sensitive information about witnesses, prosecutors said, particularly given the high-profile nature of the matter and "the risk that the revelation of witness identities would impact their willingness to cooperate with the investigation."The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. Catch up quick: The search warrant at Mar-a-Lago was carried out last Monday as part of an ongoing DOJ investigation into the discovery of recovered from Trump’s home earlier this year. On Thursday, the Justice Department announced it had filed a motion to parts of the search warrant for Trump's Florida residence. he did not oppose the warrant being publicly released. Go deeper: Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.

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