News outlets seek unsealing of newly revealed search warrants in Trump documents probe

By Tierney Sneed, CNN

(CNN) — Media organizations, including CNN, asked a magistrate judge Friday to unseal court filings related to seven search warrants the Justice Department sought in the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents.

The existence of the seven warrants – which were sought in addition to the warrant federal investigators secured to search Mar-a-Lago last summer – was only made public last week. Their existence was revealed in a court order from Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart allowing the warrant materials to be shared with attorneys for Trump and his co-defendant in the classified documents prosecution, Walt Nauta. The court-approved warrants allowed investigators to search devices and accounts, according to the court filing, though more details are not available at this time.

The new filing seeking public access to those documents – which likely include what the government filed in court to get approval for the searches – noted that the media organizations already successfully sought the partial unsealing of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant materials.

“As this Court has recognized, the public has a right of access to search warrant materials, and it is the Government’s burden to justify sealing them,” the request from the media organizations said.

Trump and Nauta were charged last month, and now prosecutors are in the process of sharing the evidence they obtained in the investigation with the defense. Trump and Nauta are pleading not guilty to the charges. The Mar-a-Lago warrant materials were partially unsealed last year, before the indictment was brought, and additional details in the materials were unredacted recently, after the charges were unveiled.

“As the indictment against former President Trump has already been unsealed, and this Court has unsealed portions of the Mar-a-Lago warrant papers, the Government faces an especially tough burden as to these remaining Additional Search Warrant Materials,” the latest request from the media organizations said.

In the case, Trump faces charges that he unlawfully retained national defense information. He and Nauta also faces charges stemming from their alleged attempts to obstruct the investigation into how the government documents had been handled. Earlier Friday, a federal judge scheduled a trial in the case to begin in May 2024, though that timeline could slip.

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CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.