Donald Trump and the Dept. of Justice may be playing a nuclear game of chicken, because Trump has just taken the Justice Dept’s offer to advocate for the release of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant … this after a Washington Post report that some of the documents secreted at the Florida estate contained information related to nuclear weapons.
Trump said late Thursday … he wouldn’t object to the release of the warrant. As you probably know, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday he would go back to court and ask the judge who signed the sealed warrant to make it public, citing, among other things, intense public interest.
Trump said on his social media Thursday, “Not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the un American, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago, I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents.”
Given that both parties are now on board, it would seem likely the judge would unseal the warrant.
Garland was under pressure to release the docs after Republicans questioned the legitimacy of the raid, suggesting it was more political than legal. The A.G. took the highly unusual step Thursday to call for the release of the warrant, but even if that happens it may not fully answer all the questions. It’s unclear if the judge will also release the affidavit attached to the warrant would establish probable cause that a crime was committed. That information could fill in the blanks.
That said, the search warrant should at least mention the scope of the search and the documents that are being sought. All eyes will be on a reference to documents related to nuclear weapons if that indeed was part of the raid.
There are reports the documents placed in the wrong harm could create “grave” danger to the U.S.
If true — that Trump had such documents — the question is why?