An assertion about potential threats and dangers to witnesses if information about them was released is seen in the midst of pages of redacted information in the released version of an affidavit from the U.S. Justice Department that was submitted to a federal judge to support the execution of a search warrant by the FBI at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate after the affidavit was released to the public by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida with more than half the information in the document redacted in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

A much-anticipated document has been partially released following a search of former US President Donald Trump’s home. The US Department of Justice released the document, with some redactions, on Friday, on the order of a judge, on the basis of which the search warrant for Trump’s private home Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach was approved. Due to the high level of public interest, the online database of court documents was completely overwhelmed.

A judge in the state of Florida had ordered the partial publication on Thursday. However, about half of the more than 30 pages have been blacked out to protect sensitive information. The document also provides information about the FBI’s initial suspicions against Trump.

Accordingly, 14 of 15 boxes of documents that Trump had previously sent from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives contained confidential and sometimes top-secret documents. 184 documents in the boxes were classified – 67 as “confidential”, 92 as “secret” and 25 as “top secret”. There were handwritten notes on some – probably by Trump himself.

The FBI complained that classified documents were mixed with other papers. The FBI therefore argued that there was reason to believe that other classified documents were located at the property.

Trump reacted with outrage at the publication of details of the investigation against him. In the online service Truth Social, which he co-founded, Trump wrote on Friday about “witch hunts!!!”.

He accused the FBI and the Justice Department of a “total PR deception”. The procedural document, some of which was published, does not indicate that he worked closely with the FBI in returning documents. Nor does it provide any evidence that he withheld documents on nuclear weapons.

The federal police FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on August 8th. The background is the Republican’s handling of documents from his term as President until January 2021.