Judicial Watch: National Archives withholding nearly all records from Mar-a-Lago raid

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will release 65 pages of documents related to the FBI's raid on former President Donald Trump's estate in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit from Judicial Watch, just a small percentage of the total trove it possesses, according to the watchdog group.

NARA reportedly maintains over 1,600 pages of documents in connection with the early August operation that has since erupted into a major legal battle and prompted a litany of whistleblower complaints against the bureau over its alleged political bias.

The federal agency on Oct. 3 released 11 pages of the 309 it found that included emails between NARA and Trump's representatives, per Judicial Watch. It further released 54 pages of the 1,303 it possessed containing emails between NARA and other entities regarding a specific set of documents. 

NARA cited a string of exceptions to FOIA law as justification for withholding the vast majority of the documents from the watchdog group.

"The Biden administration is in cover-up mode on its abusive and unprecedented raid of former President Trump's home," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "The National Archives pretends to be concerned to public access to public information while unlawfully ignoring FOIA law and using a myriad of excuses to hide records about its manufactured dispute over the Trump records."

Judicial Watch's battle with NARA over the FOIA suit rages alongside Trump's own fight with the DOJ over the agency's review of the classified materials the FBI seized. A Trump bid to stop the federal review of the materials has since gone to the Supreme Court. The DOJ this week asked the Supreme Court to deny Trump's request.