The federal judge who signed off on the search warrant for the FBI to conduct an unprecedented raid on former President Donald Trump’s estate in Mar-A-Lago has ordered the Justice Department to produce a copy of the warrant by August 15.

Federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the DOJ to “file a Response to the Motion to Unseal” the warrant after Times-Union, an Albany, N.Y. newspaper, and conservative legal group Judicial Watch filed a motion to unseal the search warrant.

“Upon information and belief, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, through the United States Attorney’s office, applied for and received a search warrant in connection with an investigation that involved the residence of Donald J. Trump in Palm Beach, Fla.,” a letter on the motion states. “On Aug. 8, 2022, a search was executed at the aforementioned residence, at 1100 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, Fla., by the FBI in plain sight of the public.”

“In addition, Mr. Trump issued a public statement on Aug. 8, 2022, stating, in part: ‘These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. … After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”

“The aforementioned search warrant(s) — and return documents denoting the items seized (once returned to the court) —are filed under seal with the U.S. District Court Clerk’s office,” the letter adds. “I am filing this request seeking the unsealing request of these court records.” The letter was signed by Brendan J. Lyons, Managing Editor of the Times Union.

The New York Times confirmed on Thursday that a subpoena had been served to Donald J. Trump this spring and was predicated to the FBI’s raid. Read more