WASHINGTON: The US Department of Justice unveiled fresh details on Friday about its investigation into government papers that former president Donald Trump removed from the White House, including 184 classified documents, some of which were labelled as “top secret” and contained sensitive information about government informants and intelligence-gathering.

A heavily redacted affidavit about documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate that was released on Friday did not itself unveil any major new revelations. But the details in the affidavit could help explain why the Justice Department sought court approval for an Aug 8 search as much of the 32-page affidavit remains under seal.

In a separate filing made public on Friday, the Justice Department said that information must remain confidential to protect a significant number of civilian witnesses, as well as law enforcement and the integrity of the investigation itself. Much of that court filing was also redacted.

An Aug. 8 search by the FBI at the Florida resort marked a significant escalation in one of the many federal and state investigations Trump is facing from his time in office and in private business. The Republican former president has suggested he might run for the White House again. He has described the search as politically motivated.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2022