The battle over unsealing the Mar-a-Lago affidavit is set to heat up this week as the wait for a look at the Department of Justice’s case against President Trump could soon be nearing its denouement in a contest over the ratio of disclosures to redactions.  

The federal magistrate judge overseeing the case, Bruce Reinhart, last week expressed that given “the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former president’s residence,” he looked with disfavor upon keeping the entire affidavit under seal.     

Judge Reinhart allowed, however, for the possibility of redaction, or omission of sensitive material. He asked for the DOJ’s proposals for such redactions to be submitted by Thursday. The DOJ has maintained that unsealing the affidavit would “cause significant and irreparable damage to this ongoing criminal investigation.” 

In making its case, Justice argued that the affidavit would “serve as a roadmap to the government’s ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course, in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps.” In particular, the affidavit contains “highly sensitive information about witnesses,” and “specific investigative techniques.”    

On Monday, however, Judge Reinhart allowed, “I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the government.”

If that is what Judge Reinhart decides, it would indicate that he had been won over to the DOJ’s position that the necessary redactions “would be so extensive as to render the document devoid of content that would meaningfully enhance the public’s understanding.”

The battle over the affidavit is being fought across somewhat unusual battle lines, as the Department of Justice is opposing not President Trump (who has not filed on the question) but a constellation of newspapers and media organizations. Mr. Trump’s team has advocated, albeit in the court of public opinion rather than the courtroom, for the affidavit to be unsealed. 

Judge Reinhart appears to be receptive to arguments that the unprecedented nature of the search at Mar-a-Lago strengthens the case for disclosure. In addition to unsealing the search warrant — a decision supported by Attorney General Garland —  he has also released the warrant’s cover sheet, the DOJ’s motion to seal the documents, and other filings.