Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
A judge has ordered the Biden administration’s Department of Justice to respond to motions to unseal the warrant that was used to raid former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Monday.
The Daily Mail reports that the FBI did not hand over a copy of the warrant to a Trump lawyer during the raid, according to comments made by Eric Trump in an interview.
After the FBI’s raid of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion on Monday, Director Christopher Wray has not addressed concerns about the warrant, instead condemning the threats against agents.
The Department of Justice must now respond to the motions to unseal the warrant by April 30. It is unclear at this time if the warrant will be made public.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) must respond to motions to unseal a search warrant related to the investigation into possible corruption at the Mar-a-Lago resort, a judge ruled on Friday.
The judge who is connected to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein ordered the DOJ to respond to motions seeking the document’s unsealing by Monday. The Albany Times Union and the conservative group Judicial Watch filed motions.
Reinhart specified that the DOJ’s response may be retracted “as necessary to avoid disclosing matters already under seal.”
Reinhart is also connected to former President Obama, having given $2,000 to his campaign in 2008 and again to his victory fund in 2012.
The warrant is connected to the ongoing investigation into whether Trump violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by profiting from foreign governments while in office. The clause prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments without congressional approval.
The investigation was launched after it was revealed that Trump had been using Mar-a-Lago as a venue to host foreign dignitaries and business leaders. The resort is owned by the Trump Organization, which is overseen by the president’s adult sons.
The probe is also looking into whether Trump violated the Domestic Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from accepting payments from the federal government or state governments beyond his salary.
The DOJ has argued that the investigation is based on “false and unsubstantiated allegations” and that unsealing the warrant would jeopardize their case.
The Mar-a-Lago search warrant is not the only one that has been at the center of controversy. Last month, a judge unsealed a search warrant that was used in the raid of Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The warrant revealed that investigators were looking for evidence of bank fraud, wire fraud, campaign finance violations, and obstruction of justice.
Cohen is currently serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to those charges. He has said that he committed the crimes at Trump’s direction.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has called the investigation a “witch hunt.”
The Mar-a-Lago warrant is the latest development in the ongoing investigation into Trump’s business dealings. The probe is being led by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and is also looking into whether Trump violated the Constitution by accepting payments from foreign governments through his businesses.
