*(CNN) — In his first public statement since federal agents searched former President Donald Trump‘s home at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday said that the Justice Department had filed in court a request that the search warrant and property receipt from the search be unsealed.
The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations.
In a message reviewed by CNN Thursday, FBI Director Chris Wray told the bureau’s employees their “safety and security” was his “primary concern right now.”
“There has been a lot of commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives,” Wray said. “Much of it is from critics and pundits on the outside who don’t know what we know and don’t see what we see. What I know — and what I see — is an organization made up of men and women who are committed to doing their jobs professionally and by the book every day; this week is no exception.”
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The topic of the statement was not given in the Justice Department’s announcement.
A White House official said they did not get advanced notice that Garland would be delivering a statement Thursday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland also addressed “unfounded attacks on the Justice Department agents and prosecutors,” in the wake of the search of Mar-a-Lago on Monday and an attempted breach of the FBI’s field office in Cincinnati on Thursday.
“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants. Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them,” Garland said.
This story and headline are breaking and will be updated.
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