By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday it opposed the release of testimony prosecutors used to gain approval from a federal judge to search the Florida home of former President Donald Trump, where they seized confidential documents.
“If released, the testimony would serve as a roadmap for the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a way that is likely to compromise future stages of the investigation,” prosecutors wrote.
In recent days, Trump’s Republican allies have stepped up calls for Attorney General Merrick Garland to unlock the document, which would reveal evidence prosecutors presented to demonstrate they had reason to believe crimes were committed at the home of Trump. Trump.
On Friday, at the request of the Department of Justice, a federal court in South Florida revealed a search warrant and several accompanying legal documents that showed that FBI agents took 11 sets of confidential records from the Mar-a-Lago resort of Trump.
Some of the seized records were labeled “top secret” – the highest level for the most closely guarded US national security information.
These documents are often kept in special government facilities because disclosure could jeopardize national security.
The Justice Department cited this on Monday as another reason to keep the testimony confidential, saying the investigation involves “highly confidential materials”.
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