U.S. Department of Justice submits redacted Mar-a-Lago search affidavit

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed its proposed redactions to the affidavit used to seek the search warrant on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

The DOJ "respectfully declines further comment as the court considers the matter," the spokesperson added in a statement.

The filing came a week after U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida Bruce Reinhart asked the DOJ to send him proposed redactions of the affidavit for further review.

Multiple U.S. media organizations asked Reinhar to unseal the affidavit, following the release of the warrant that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents executed to search Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month.

The DOJ has opposed the unsealing of the affidavit, claiming that the move would undermine "an ongoing law enforcement investigation that implicates national security."

The media outlets had argued that the significant public interest in the affidavit justifies disclosing at least part of it.

Trump and many Republicans have denounced what they called a "raid" on Mar-a-Lago and repeatedly lashed out at the FBI and the DOJ.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said on Wednesday that he had "zero" advance notice before the search.

The FBI operation on Mar-a-Lago was part of the DOJ's investigation into whether Trump had mishandled classified documents.

The unsealed warrant listed three potential criminal violations -- concealment or removal of federal records, destruction or alteration of records in a federal investigation, and transmitting defense information.

A "receipt for property" included 33 seized items, including 11 sets of documents described either as "classified/TS/SCI," "top secret," "secret," or "confidential."

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and claimed all documents taken by FBI agents were declassified, and said on Monday that his attorneys have demanded the DOJ be instructed to immediately stop the review of documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.