A nonprofit on Aug. 9 filed a motion in federal court to unseal documents related to the search warrant executed this week at the Florida home of former President Donald Trump.
The nonprofit also said that it was investigating the “potential politicization” of the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI and that the unsealing of the materials would help its mission of educating the public.
Once the court allows the unsealing of the materials, Judicial Watch will be able to analyze them and make them available to the public, according to the organization. The government has provided “no official explanation or information” regarding the search, it noted.
If the government needs to protect the identities of its confidential sources and witnesses, it may be addressed through “appropriate redactions” from the search warrant affidavit, the motion states. The historical presumption of access to warrant materials “vastly outweighs” any government interest in keeping the materials under seal, the motion argues.
Unintended Political Consequences
The raid on Trump’s home is said to be related to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, which established that all records of the president are owned by the public. Upon a president’s exit from the White House, these records are to be transferred into the custody of the National Archives.Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett pointed out that the PRA is one of the “most opaque laws.”
Former Democrat presidential candidate Andrew Yang pointed out that a “fundamental part” of Trump’s appeal lies in the view that he is against a “corrupt government establishment.”
The FBI raid of Trump’s home will mostly be seen as “unjust persecution” by millions of Americans, he said.