GOP lawmakers demand more information on Trump FBI search
Republican lawmakers on Sunday continued to press the Department of Justice (DOJ) for even more information about the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago as many continued their unwavering support of the former president while casting doubt on the operation and its findings so far.
Trump himself has condemned the search, calling it an “unAmerican, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid.” Some Republicans have joined the former president in decrying the DOJ’s move as politically motivated, while others have questioned the basis of the search and called for more oversight.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Attorney General Merrick Garland “has a lot of questions to answer” about whether the “unprecedented” search was justified and necessary.
“They had other options. I’m certain that you have to understand that going into his house, especially the former president, President Biden’s political rival, into his house for nine hours, is the most intrusive, invasive — and Attorney Garland’s got to justify that,” Turner said.
Records unsealed on Friday revealed that the FBI had seized 11 sets of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago, but Turner said he questions whether the records were in fact classified as they had been labeled.
"We have this list from the FBI, but we don't have conclusive as to whether or not this actually is classified material and whether or not it rises to the level the highest classified material. On a bipartisan basis, Congress is saying, show us the goods," Turner said.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) both called for more information on the search, but hit back at critics knocking the FBI for executing the warrant.
McCaul, appearing on CBS' “Face the Nation,” cautioned against “inflammatory” rhetoric that unfairly and dangerously targets law enforcement, including sentiments expressed by Trump.
Hutchinson on CNN's "State of the Union" said the FBI was “simply carrying out their responsibilities under the law” when they searched Trump’s home.
Democrats are also seeking more clarity on what happened. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chair of the House Intelligence Committee and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Overnight Committee, wrote to the director of National Intelligence on Saturday to request a damage assessment and a classified briefing "on the conduct of the damage assessment."
FBI director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump but who was also at times at the center of the former president's ire, spoke last week about an influx of online threats and harassment against FBI agents and the DOJ after the search.
“I’m always concerned about threats to law enforcement,” Wray said, according to The Associated Press. “Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you’re upset with.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said on ABC’s “This Week” that the DOJ was justified in its Mar-a-Lago search and that the unsealing of the documents was “a step in the right direction,” but echoed his fellow Republicans’ sentiments that there are still “a lot of unanswered questions.”
Hogan pressed the DOJ to further explain its actions, but differentiated himself from those who jumped to condemn the search itself, “just reacting, just defending Donald Trump.”
Garland said during a rare press conference last week that DOJ did not make the decision to search Mar-a-Largo lightly and said the department would ask a judge to unseal the warrant as well a receipt of what was taken during the search.
Few Republicans have spoken to condemn Trump of the findings, which include possible violations of The Espionage Act. Trump has claimed that he de-classified the documents before leaving office, but the National Archives still considers them classified, which means Trump may not have followed proper protocol to do so and some of the information obtained at Mar-a-Lago marked top secret cannot be declassified by anyone.
After the search warrant was made public, many in the GOP are now calling for the release of an affidavit which includes far more information regarding the search and just what is being investigated in regards to Trump.
“It was an unprecedented action that needs to be supported by unprecedented justification,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), said on CBS’s "Face the Nation.” “This has never happened before in our country's history."