The US Justice Department is under pressure to provide a fuller explanation for the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida estate after the unprecedented raid on the home of a former US president sparked an outcry from Republicans.
As of midday Tuesday, the Justice Department and the FBI had yet to comment on the Mar-a-Lago search, which was carried out a day earlier by what Trump described as a “large group” of federal agents. FBI searches must be approved by a federal judge.
The move drew backlash from Republicans, who portrayed it as a politically motivated attack on someone who has repeatedly floated the prospect of trying to retake the White House in 2024.
Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, said he shared the “deep concern of millions of Americans” about the search, noting that “no former president of the United States has ever been searched in their private residence.”
Pence, who publicly broke with Trump over the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, added that Merrick Garland, the attorney general, “must give a full account to the American people of why this action was taken, and he must do so immediately.”
Mike Turner, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, released a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray calling for an “immediate briefing” on the manhunt.
“In the history of our country, this action is unprecedented. . . Congress deserves immediate answers from you regarding the actions you have ordered,” Turner wrote.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham described it as a “dangerous moment for the American Constitution.”
“The pressure on the Justice Department from liberals to bring Trump in is relentless. . . Remember, they’ve been trying to get Trump since he came down the escalator,” Graham added, referring to Trump’s 2016 campaign message.
Asked about the raid on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said the administration was not forewarned of the FBI manhunt and only learned of it from public reports.
“We learned just as the American public did yesterday and we had no advance notice of this activity,” she said. “President Biden has been very clear since before he was elected president and throughout his tenure that the Department of Justice conducts its investigations independently.”
Criticism of the raid was not limited to the GOP, with Democrats also calling on the Justice Department to provide more clarity. Others warned that if the search was conducted in connection with an investigation into the preservation of presidential records — rather than a more serious matter — then it could jeopardize future investigations and give Trump a boost politically.
Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York who was forced to resign after a wave of sexual harassment allegations, called on the Justice Department to “immediately explain the reason for the assault.”
He added that if the raid was only about “searching for non-essential records”, it would be “seen as a political tactic and undermine any future credible investigation”.
Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate, said on Twitter: “The mishandling of documents does not appear to be attack material. Still, it looks like excellent campaign material for Trump.
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In a separate blow to Trump, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Congress has the right to subpoena the former president’s tax returns — something the left has long fought for.
The Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee said it expects to get access to the returns immediately and will begin its oversight of the Internal Revenue Service’s mandatory presidential audit program.
The Mar-a-Lago attack threatens to overshadow what was shaping up to be one of the most positive periods of Joe Biden’s presidency. News of the search broke as he was celebrating a string of legislative victories capped by passage of a flagship tax-and-spending bill in the Senate over the weekend.
Democrats also hoped to energize their base after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent establishing a federal constitutional right to abortion.
Democratic leaders were reluctant to discuss the FBI manhunt Tuesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she expected authorities to have “justification,” but said she had no further information about the attack. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader of the Senate, also declined to comment on the search.
Meanwhile, Republican candidates sent fundraising emails to supporters citing the FBI manhunt in a sign they hope they can use the raid to rally the party base ahead of the midterm elections, where Democrats are expected to lose their thin majority in the House of Representatives.
Mehmet Oz, the Republican Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, tweeted: “America is deeply divided and what President Biden’s FBI and DOJ did last night will only make things worse. Americans have every right to be upset and demand answers as to why this attack happened as the most aggressive action taken against a former president in our nation’s history.
However, Hillary Clinton — who was investigated by the FBI in the run-up to the 2016 election for her use of a private email server while secretary of state — seemed to be enjoying the moment.
She tweeted a link to a page selling baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan “But her emails,” which became a tongue-in-cheek response among her supporters after she lost the election to Trump.
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