A U.S. federal magistrate judge will hear Thursday from attorneys for some of the nation’s most prominent media companies arguing for the release of the affidavit supporting a search warrant executed last week at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate.
The U.S. Justice Department has objected to making the document public, arguing that would jeopardize its investigation into Trump’s handling of classified material.
The media companies argued in a court filing that it is in the public interest to see “the government’s basis for the extraordinary step of seeking the warrant to search a former president’s home.”
The filing further said that if the judge reviews the document and finds a compelling interest in keeping some portions of the information secret, then the remainder should be made public.
Those arguing for the document’s release include The Associated Press, broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, as well as newspaper companies The New York Times, The Washington Post, Dow Jones & Company, E.W. Scripps Company and McClatchy.
FBI agents removed 11 sets of classified documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on August 8.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
