Thursday 11 August 2022 12:58 AM Justice Department ordered to respond to requests to unseal warrant FBI used to ... trends now
The Department of Justice has been ordered to respond to motions to unseal the warrant used in the FBI's raid of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
The magistrate judge who allegedly approved the unprecedented search, Bruce Reinhart, ordered the DOJ to file a response to motions to unseal from the Albany Times Union and conservative group Judicial Watch.
Reinhart said the DOJ's response may be redacted 'as necessary to avoid disclosing matters already under seal.' The DOJ now has until Monday to respond.
Appointed to his current position in 2018, Reinhart, who is believed to have signed the sealed FBI warrant, recused himself in June from a lawsuit between Trump and Hillary Clinton because of 'personal bias.'
Trump had sued Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and other political entities for promoting stories he had colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
Eric said lawyer Christina Bobb was forced to wait at the end of a driveway during the search. Pictured: Armed Secret Service agents stand outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, late Monday, August 8 in Palm Beach, Florida
Secret service members stand guard outside former U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home after Trump said that FBI agents raided it, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., August 8, 2022
Secret Service looks on as FBI removes a dozen boxes from the property
Trump's Palm Beach, Florida club was raided while he was in New York City on Monday
The judge cited in his June 22 recusal a part of U.S. code requiring magistrate judges to disqualify themselves if they have 'personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding.'
Reinhart did not specify if he had personal bias toward Trump, Clinton or any of the dozens of defendants in the lawsuit.
On Monday dozens of FBI agents descended on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate as part of a probe into whether he took classified records with him upon leaving the White House.
While agents would typically provide Trump's team with a copy of the warrant, his son Eric Trump claimed to DailyMail.com that agents would not hand over the document.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, the former president's son said the 30 agents who arrived at the property asked staff to turn security cameras off – but they refused.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia
