Justice Department Wants to Keep Trump Affidavit Sealed

The Justice Department argued Monday against unsealing the affidavit it submitted in support of its search of former President Donald Trump's home, saying releasing of the information could hurt its investigation. Several news organizations asked the court to make the affidavit public, the Washington Post reports. On Friday, a judge released the search warrant and an FBI inventory of items removed last week from Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. The release of the affidavit also could be detrimental to people involved in the investigation, the Justice Department's court filing said, including harming their reputations.

"If disclosed, the affidavit 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," prosecutors wrote. They said the Justice Department wouldn't object to making other documents public, per NBC News. The media outlets cited the historic nature of the investigation. "Not since the Nixon Administration had the federal government wielded its power to seize records from a former President in such a public fashion," the Post wrote. Other outlets signed on are CNN, Scripps, and NBC News. (More Donald Trump stories.)