Judge Bruce Reinhart was the magistrate judge that approved the warrant for President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence raid. He officially rejected the Biden administration’s argument to keep its warrant affidavit sealed, citing the “intense historical and public interest.”
Reinhart stated Monday morning that he rejected “the Government’s argument” that the current record justified keeping the entire Affidavit sealed.
Reinhart stated that the Government claims that even requiring it redact portions in the Affidavit which could not reveal agents identities or investigative source and methods imposes an undue cost on its resources and sets precedents that could be disruptive to future cases.” Reinhart wrote, “I don’t need to address the question of whether these concerns could be justified in denying public access in any other case; they very well might.”
Reinhart stated, “Particularly considering the intense public interest in a search of the former President’s residence,” Reinhart said.
Reinhart gave the Justice Department the “opportunity” to propose redaction, with a deadline for Thursday, August 25, at 12 noon.
Due to Trump’s apparent bias, Reinhart’s approval of the raid has been criticized.
It seems unlikely that any substantive information will be disclosed in a redacted statement, despite this development. According to the Department of Justice, the redactions required to mitigate harms in the integrity of an investigation would be so extensive that the remaining unsealed text would lack any meaningful content.
