The affidavit would be the showing of probable cause which led the Magistrate to judge a warrant should be issued in response to the DOJ application.
Axios link. Mar-a-Lago search warrant's clues (axios.com) stating mid item:
What they're saying: "It doesn't matter if he was holding on to the information because he was using it as memorabilia or wanted to trade it for financial benefit" or whether his motives were "petty or corrupt," said Ryan Goodman, an NYU law school professor and former special counsel at the Department of Defense and founding co-editor of the Just Security online national security forum.
- "That's why I think he's in very serious trouble," Goodman said. "If the Justice Department wanted to pursue a criminal case, based on the available information known to the public to date, they appear to have a very strong case."
But, but, but: The search — and the many boxes and binders seized — does not guarantee there will be an indictment, Goodman said.
- Obtaining and securing the most sensitive documents may have been the overarching objective.
Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, told Axios that "we should be careful" not to rush to conclusions because "there's still a whole lot we don't know."
- Still, he said, a reference to the Espionage Act on a search warrant for the home of an ex-U.S. president "is really quite stunning."
- "This is about more than just, ‘President Trump took some stuff home with him that he shouldn't have.’"
Details: The inventory shows the FBI removed 11 sets of classified information from the Trump property, including some marked as "top secret." Agents collected ...
- "Various classified/TS/SCI documents" — referring to documents containing "top secret" or "sensitive compartmented information."
- 21 boxes of "miscellaneous confidential documents," "miscellaneous secret documents" or "miscellaneous top secret documents."
- [...]
The one quoted professor saying don't jump to conclusions is sound advice.
Jumping to guesses is fair game. The Republicans are doing exactly that. As is simply phrasing unanswered questions. But the rhetoric coming from Republicans about defunding or disbanding the FBI or impeaching Garland is wholly premature, and it is extreme.
BOTTOM LINE: What the affidavit said is crucial information. MTG can wig out as much as she things helpful to her reelection, but she only knows what everyone else knows - warrant content and receipt content for materials removed. She seems incapable of shutting up and waiting, as cautious people might think best.
UPDATE: One final and unrelated subjective observation: Opinions can differ, but this thing to me is UGLY and about as tacky as Trump and his over-long neckties and funny hair:
Rep Bobert might think it neat.