(The Center Square) The U.S. Department of Justice raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., sparked a wave of controversy and pushback from lawmakers, some of whom suggested a congressional investigation if Republicans retake the House or Senate in November.
“The FBI raid was unprecedented for America, but familiar to those in Florida who fled nations where political opposition was criminalized,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., currently the ranking minority member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “If voters put us back in the majority, we better have the guts to subpoena the records [and] make those who authorized this testify under oath.”
Rubio’s House counterpart, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray demanding a brieifing on the matter, Fox News reported.
“I am unaware of any actual or alleged national security threat posed by any information, data, or documents in the possession of former President Trump,” Turner wrote on Monday.
“Congress deserves immediate answers from you as to the actions you ordered,” he continued. “I hereby request an immediate briefing by you to Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence concerning any national security threats used to justify your decision.”
It was unclear whether Wray, who caught a flight to the Adirondacks late last week on vacation, had yet complied.
Sources say FBI agents were searching for White House documents, some of which could be classified.
Some Republicans tied the move to President Joe Biden’s plan to beef up IRS auditing. Senate Democrats passed a measure that includes $80 billion to hire an additional 87,000 IRS agents.
“The FBI raiding Donald Trump is unprecedented,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “It is corrupt [and] an abuse of power. What Nixon tried to do, Biden has now implemented: The Biden Admin has fully weaponized DOJ [and] FBI to target their political enemies. And with [87,000] new IRS agents, they’re coming for you too.”
Even Democratic former New York Gov Andrew Cuomo raised questions about the raid.
“DOJ must immediately explain the reason for its raid & it must be more than a search for inconsequential archives or it will be viewed as a political tactic and undermine any future credible investigation & legitimacy of January 6 investigations,” he wrote on Twitter.
In response to Cuomo’s statement, Cruz tweeted a message for the Biden administration:
“To the AG & FBI Dir: Release the warrant now,” he wrote on Twitter. “The American people deserve to see it. … And, as even Cuomo acknowledges, ‘it must be more than a search for inconsequential archives,’ or it will be obvious that this is nothing more than a blatant political persecution.”
Former Trump administration officials spoke out as well.
“I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump,” former Vice President Mike Pence said. “No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history.”
Meanwhile, Trump was reported to have rallied with some of his top allies in the House.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., tweeted a picture showing himself and several GOP colleagues standing by the former president.
House conservatives are united in standing with President Trump.
We will Make America Great Again! @RepublicanStudy pic.twitter.com/ZkcC7kqCHi
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) August 10, 2022
Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told Headline USA on Tuesday that he supported a plan to decentralize the Justice Department and the FBI by moving them out of Washington, D.C.
Doing so not only would eliminate the corrupt political influence but would help ensure fairer trials that did not have to come before a highly biased D.C. jury and judiciary.
Meanwhile, Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., revealed that the FBI had ambushed him and seized his cell phone following the raid on Trump.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
