Judicial Watch Lawsuit Seeks FBI Search Warrant Materials Used in Raid of Trump’s Home

Judicial Watch on Tuesday filed a motion at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking to unseal the search warrant materials that were used in the raid of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home by the FBI.

On Aug. 8, Trump announced that his Mar-a-Lago home was “under siege” and being “occupied” by FBI agents. Trump’s son Eric Trump stated that the raid was conducted to see whether his father possessed documents from his time in office.

In its motion, Judicial Watch said that it was investigating the “potential politicization” of the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, and whether these agencies were abusing their powers to “harass” a likely future political opponent of President Joe Biden.

Once the court allows the unsealing of the materials, Judicial Watch will be able to analyze it and make it available to the public, according to the organization. The government has provided “no official explanation or information” regarding the search.

If the government needs to protect the identities of its confidential sources and witnesses, it may be addressed through “appropriate redactions” from the search warrant affidavit. The historical presumption of access to warrant materials “vastly outweighs” any government interest in keeping the materials under seal, the motion argues.

“The Biden administration’s raid on President Trump’s home is an outrageous, reckless, and unprecedented abuse of power. And the American people have an urgent right to know how it happened and who is responsible,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in an Aug. 9 press release.

Unintended Political Consequences

The raid on Trump’s home is said to be related to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, which established that all records of the president are owned by the public. Upon a president’s exit from the White House, these records are