The Justice Department on Friday released a redacted version of both the affidavit and memo related to the recent FBI raid on former President Donald Trump's Florida mansion.
Quite comically, however, the DOJ actually redacted portions of the documents in which it is explaining the rationale behind the redactions. As a result ... many of the pages didn't reveal much.
Those following the case had an absolute field day sharing screenshots of the almost completely blacked-out material, especially when the eliminated text rendered clauses like "for example" or "as explained in the affidavit" completely moot.
But you might be wondering ... what's all the added secrecy for, anyway? Well, it's first important to note how highly unusual it is for the Justice Department to release any part of an affidavit to the public, lest the disclosure affect an ongoing investigation or trial. But secondly, reports The New York Times, the DOJ had, under judge's orders, proposed the redactions "in an effort to shield witnesses" in the investigation "from intimidation or retribution." The unreleased portions also protect the identity of law enforcement officials and other pieces of the case itself, notes The Associated Press.
As for noteworthy revelations from the affidavit's unredacted portions, it appears 14 of the 15 boxes recovered from Mar-a-Lago back in January contained classified documents, "many of them top secret," AP writes.