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The ruling paves the way for the partial release of crucial information that could shed light on the reasons for last week’s search. It came after a 90-minute hearing set in motion by media outlets – includingThe New York Times,The Washington Post,NBC and CNN – calling for the affidavit to be fully unsealed.

“Before the events of this week,not since the Nixon administration had the federal government wielded its power to seize records from a former president in such a public fashion,” they said in a court filing.

The Justice Department,however,disagreed. Last week,it approved the release of the search warrant and property receipt into theMar-a-Lago raid,which revealed the FBI had retrieved 11 sets of classified documents as part of a probe into potential violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice laws.

The department opposed unsealing the affidavit. The head of its counter-intelligence division Jay Bratt explained in court that doing so would “provide a roadmap to the investigation” into Trump’s potential mishandling of the documents,which he said was still “open and in its early stages”.

He also said the nation was in a “volatile” state and that releasing sensitive information could “chill” current and future witnesses.

“This is not a precedent we want to set,” said Bratt. “The government is very concerned about the safety of witnesses in this case.”

Reinhart – whose own life has been threatened by Trump supporters since he signed off on the warrant – said he was “not prepared to find that the affidavit should be fully sealed”.

He has given the department until midday next Thursday (US time) to suggest which portions should remain a secret before making a final decision.

The battle over the affidavit is the latest development in the ongoing criminal investigation stemming from Trump’s decision to take sensitive documents from the White House when his term ended last year.

While Trump on Monday used his Truth Social platform to call for the affidavit to be released unredacted “in the interest of TRANSPARENCY”,his lawyers have so far not filed a motion to support this push.

Allen Weisselberg,chief financial officer of the Trump Organisation (centre) outside court in New York,on September 20,2021.Credit:Bloomberg photo by Stephanie Keith

Meanwhile,in a New York courthouse about 1900 kilometres away,another legal case involving Trump had a significant development:a former executive of the Trump Organisation pleaded guilty to criminal tax fraud and other charges.

Allen Weisselberg,the long-time top financial officer of the company who spent decades as one of Trump’s closest business associates,was indicted last year for a scheme in which he and the company concealed certain financial compensation to avoid paying taxes.

The indictment alleges that the Trump Organisation paid the rent and bills for a Manhattan apartment where Weisselberg lived and paid the leases for his Mercedes-Benz,but failed to report this to evade paying taxes – hiding about $US1.7 million ($2.4 million) from authorities over more than a decade.

He initially insisted he was innocent but issued a guilty plea on Friday (AEST) and agreed to testify at a pending trial against the company if called.

Protesters in front of Trump Tower in New York after the raid on his Mar-a-Lago estate.Credit:AP

As part of his plea agreement,the 75-year-old would spend five months in jail,followed by five years of probation,rather than risk the possibility of a much higher prison sentence.

While Trump and his allies have branded the case as yet another “witch-hunt” by Democrats,Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement the plea agreement “directly implicates” the Trump Organisation in a “wide range of criminal activity”.

“Furthermore,thanks to the incredibly hard work and dedication of the team prosecuting this case,Weisselberg will spend time behind bars,” he said. “We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organisation.”

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