Trump says he won’t contest publication of Mar-a-Lago search warrant

Trump says he is encouraging justice department to ‘release the documents now’

Donald Trump said late on Thursday that he won’t oppose a move by the Justice Department to make public the search warrant for Monday’s FBI raid on his Florida residence.

Attorney general Merrick Garland had said earlier in the day that he “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant” for former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Mr Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social late on Thursday that “not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the unAmerican, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago, I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents.”

He added: “Release the documents now!”

The attorney general had said that there was an extraordinary public interest in the documents and a motion filed in federal court said that “the public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favour of unsealing.”

Mr Merrick said: “The Department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter.”

He added: “Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favour. Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing.”