‘Absolutely Release The Affidavit’: Ex-Prosecutor Hammers DOJ For Not Being Fully Transparent About Trump Raid

A CNN guest blasted the Department of Justice on Monday for a lack of transparency over the Aug. 8 raid on Mar-a-Lago.

“I think ultimately Merrick Garland’s job here is to get buy-in from the American public that the investigation has been conducted fairly and transparently, and ultimately the American people are the jury on this case,” John P. Fishwick, Jr., a former federal prosecutor, said.

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The FBI executed a search warrant at the Florida estate owned by former President Donald Trump as part of a reported investigation into the removal of classified materials from the White House when Trump left office in January 2021. Republicans called the raid an “abuse of power” by the Biden administration.

A judge ordered the release of a heavily-redacted affidavit behind the search warrant Friday, with many of the reasons behind the DOJ’s search warrant redacted as well.

“They need to know what the evidence is against a former president,” Fishwick continued. “Yes, a former president of the United States is different. We have to treat that person differently. And we need to make sure that Donald Trump is treated the same as Joe Biden would be treated if he left office.”

Americans have been split on whether the Justice Department has been honest about the raid and the motives behind it according to a poll by the Trafalgar Group.

“I think they should absolutely release the affidavit for the search warrant,” Fishwick said. “We need to know the specifics of this case. You can’t just suddenly indict a former president without telling the public why.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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