Some question why probable cause affidavit in Mar-a-Lago search was not made public

WASHINGTON (TND) — A federal judge unsealed the search warrant that led to the raid at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Now, there are questions about why the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into Trump and what they were expecting to find at the estate.

Former federal prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah joined the National Desk to discuss what the government was looking for, if they found it and what may come following the investigation.

“The Espionage Act is seeking to make sure that public officials and government employees don't take sensitive documents out of public offices — out of government offices — so whenever you leave government, whether it's a top-secret document, whether it's a classified or unclassified document, you're not supposed to take that out of the office,” Vignarajah said. “So what you're looking for is evidence of documents that should never have left the White House and we see in the receipts, indication after indication that sensitive documents, the top secret documents, sensitive documents, compartmentalized documents, were in fact among the materials that were taken out. That's an early indication that the agents found what they were looking for.”

It has also caused questions as to the probable cause behind the search warrant.

“This is not the modest reasonable suspicion standard. Probable cause is the highest standard you have — short of proof beyond a reasonable doubt — probable cause is enough to make an arrest. It's enough to make an arrest, it's enough to conduct a search. This means that there was enough evidence to go before a federal judge and convince them under a basic, a sworn affidavit, that this step was necessary," said Vignarajah.

"The fact that Attorney General Merrick Garland — who does not do things rashly, he's a very measured, cautious — Attorney General Garland was willing to authorize this at the highest level means that the president really has some trouble ahead," he added.

Trump says he declassified these documents before leaving office. Vignarajah says it's something that hasn't been done before.

“I've never heard of such a thing. I find it to be a bizarre defense. The fact that you can declassify certain documents and take them with you to your resort in Florida is unprecedented,” he said.

Many are wondering what information the affidavit will provide to the public. Vignarajah says it's key to understanding the basis for the search.

“There's speculation it was a Secret Service agent to tipped the FBI off. We need to know the sources of the information. That affidavit is obviously in the hands of the former president. He knows, his former lawyers know, agents and the prosecutors. Now, the public doesn't know but it would reveal the strength of the sources on which the federal judge decided to approve this search.”

He says the steps that have been taken so far are a clear indication that sensitive documents are involved in the investigation.

“The fact that they took the step to go before a federal judge after issuing a subpoena that the former president didn't respond to, after a request from the national archivist requesting these documents. They have tried to take one measured step after another The fact that it came to this means that there is something very sensitive at issue and I do worry, for the sake of the nation, that we're going to have a very, very divisive issue in the days ahead.”