US judge: An important document caused a search of Trump's home

A pro-Trump banner put up by his supporters outside a Florida courthouse.

AFP

A federal judge in Florida said he is likely to order the release of a key judicial document that was behind the search of former US President Donald Trump's home, despite the US Justice Department's warning that the disclosure could do irreparable damage to an ongoing criminal investigation.

The legal dispute revolves around an affidavit, establishing probable cause in a criminal case, naming witnesses to a possible crime, and establishing a possible course of criminal prosecution.

Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the Justice Department to prepare a redacted version of the affidavit that led to the Aug. 8 search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home by Thursday afternoon.

While Reinhart said he was not yet convinced to keep the entire document secret, the government will have another opportunity to present its case on the 25th of this month.

The Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, Alan Vesselberg, has pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion and agreed to testify at the organization's trial, the Manhattan attorney general's office announced.

In a statement, the attorney general's office said Allen Vesselberg pleaded guilty to 15 counts of tax fraud and evasion, including $1.76 million in unreported income between 2005 and 2021.

The criminal trial against the Trump Organization, which has pleaded its innocence, is scheduled to begin on October 24.

New York State Attorney General Leticia James is conducting another, but civil, investigation into "suspicions of financial and tax fraud in the Trump Organization."

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