Justice Department opposes unsealing Mar-a-Lago affidavit

The Department of Justice on Monday asked a judge not to unseal the affidavit that supported the search warrant of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, saying that making it public would "cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation."

The affidavit was submitted along with the search warrant, and contains "highly sensitive information about witnesses," the DOJ's court filing states. Those witnesses include people who have been interviewed by the government as part of a grand jury investigation, The Associated Press reports.

The AP and several other news outlets have submitted court filings in an attempt to unseal the affidavit. The search warrant and a property receipt were unsealed on Friday, showing that Trump is being investigated by the federal government for potential violation of the Espionage Act and the FBI removed 11 sets of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, including four sets classified as "top secret/sensitive compartmented information."

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In its court filing, the DOJ said if the affidavit is disclosed, it would "serve as a roadmap 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."