A federal judge tentatively agreed Thursday to release portions
of a key investigative document that prosecutors say would disclose
“a detailed roadmap” to an FBI investigation into possible election
law violations.
The case involves a U.S. Justice Department investigation into
campaign contributions by companies that have worked for the Catawba
Indian Nation.
The State newspaper petitioned the court to open the document,
called an affidavit.
In a split decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant said
the newspaper is entitled to some information contained in an FBI
agent’s sworn statement used to get an Aug. 31 search warrant of
three Columbia companies.
Marchant agreed to release an abridged version of the
statement.
But the judge delayed his decision until Monday to give the
Justice Department’s Public Integrity section in Washington an
opportunity to review the shortened affidavit and decide whether it
will continue to oppose release.
The document remains sealed until at least then.
The government already had said it will oppose release of even a
shortened version, saying much of the case has been made public and
further disclosures would jeopardize the investigation.
Marchant acknowledged the Justice Department had persuaded him
that he should not release the entire document
Prosecutors argued in court documents that the affidavit lays out
“the course and direction of the government’s investigation,”
identifies possible targets of the probe, spells out theories of the
crime and identifies cooperating witnesses.
“Virtually every page ... contains references to conversations
and events, and reveals the nature and scope of the on-going
investigation,” the Justice Department argue.
“Exposure of this roadmap would thus serve as a guide to the
effective obstruction of the federal criminal laws,” it wrote.
Reach LeBlanc at (803) 771-8664 or cleblanc@thestate.com.
