ABOVE PHOTO: Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. The U.S. Justice Department announced civil rights charges Thursday against four Louisville police officers over the drug raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose fatal shooting contributed to the racial justice protests that rocked the U.S. in the spring and summer of 2020. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
By Eric Tucker And Michael Balsamo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has asked a court to unseal the warrant the FBI received before searching the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday, acknowledging the extraordinary public interest in the case.
The request was striking because such documents traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the Justice Department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter attacks from the former president and his allies, and Garland felt it wise to respond to the widespread demands for details about what led to the FBI action.
“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida on Thursday seeking the unsealing.
Garland also cited the fact that Trump himself had provided the first public confirmation of the FBI search, and the attorney general said that disclosing information about it now would not harm the court’s functions. It was not immediately clear when — or if — the unsealing request might be granted or when the documents could be released. Trump will also have a chance to object.
The attorney general condemned verbal attacks on FBI and Justice Department personnel over the search.
“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” he said, calling them “dedicated, patriotic public servants.”
Leave a Comment