Republicans Kept Defending Trump After FBI Search Operation
The FBI searches Donald Trump's home while some Republicans try to defind him. On Sunday, Republicans kept defending Trump after the FBI search operation at his Florida home. However, there were clear cracks in the party's support for law enforcement in the midst of a federal investigation into how Mr. Trump handled top-secret documents.
Author:Paula M. GrahamReviewer:Rhyley CarneyAug 15, 20223.5K Shares71.7K Views
The FBI searches Donald Trump's home while some Republicans try to defind him.
On Sunday, Republicans kept defending Trump after the FBI search operationat his Florida home.
However, there were clear cracks in the party's support for law enforcement in the midst of a federal investigation into how Mr. Trump handled top-secret documents.
Right after the search, angry Republican lawmakers, including some in leadership positions, criticized the top law enforcement agencies in the country.
Some people called for the F.B.I. to be "defunded" or "destroyed," while others used terms like "gestapo" and "tyrants" to evoke the Nazi secret police.
On Sunday, some moderate voices within the party criticized their more extreme colleagues for their broadsides against law enforcement.
They say that the best way to support Mr. Trump and keep an eye on the Justice Department is to take a more measured approach.
Several Republicans asked for the affidavit that supported the search warrant that was carried out last Monday to be made public.
This document would detail the evidence that had convinced a judge that there was probable cause to believe a search would find evidence of crimes, and it would be released to the public.
Documents like these are almost never made public before formal accusations are made.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania and a former agent with the FBI, made the following statement:
“„It was an unprecedented action that needs to be supported by unprecedented justification. Face the Nation. I have urged all my colleagues to make sure they understand the weight of their words.
In response to the increasing number of threats made against law enforcement, recommendations have been made for a more cautious tone.
An F.B.I. office in Cincinnati was attacked by a gunman on Thursday.
Following that day, the Department of Homeland Security sent an intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the country, in which it warned of "an increase in threats and acts of violence, including armed encounters, against law enforcement, judiciary, and government personnel" after the search for the suspect.
According to the information obtained from CBS News:
The FBI and DHS have observed an increase in violent threats posted on social media against federal officials and facilities, including a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI Headquarters and issuing general calls for 'civil war' and 'armed rebellion'.
Meanwhile, at 4 a.m. on Sunday, another gunman drove his car into a barrier outside the Capitol, making people even more worried.
The Capitol Police said that after he got out of the car and it caught on fire, he fired several times into the air before killing himself.
Mr. Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, stated that he had started getting in touch with his old coworkers at the FBI "to make sure they were OK."
"We’re the world’s oldest democracy, and the only way that can come unraveled is if we have disrespect for institutions that lead to Americans turning on Americans. A lot of that starts with the words we’re using," he shared.
In response to the F.B.I.'s search of Mr. Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Republicans have had a hard time coming up with a single plan. This is because the former president's explanations, excuses, denials, and false accusations change every day.
The list showed that the F.B.I. had gotten 11 sets of classified documents as part of an investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act and two other laws.
Some documents were labeled "classified/TS/SCI." Such information is solely meant for secure government facilities.
President Trump and his supporters have said that Obama also mishandled classified information, which the National Archives quickly disproved. They have also said that the judge who signed the warrant allowing the search must have been biased, that the F.B.I. might have planted evidence, that the documents were protected by attorney-client or executive privilege, and that Mr. Trump had declassified the information.
Since Tuesday, Mr. Trump's political action committee has sent at least 17 text messages to donors to raise money off of the F.B.I. search.
Donald Trump Jr., the son of the former president, sent out another email and said:
“„The witch hunt continues…The FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago was a DISGRACE. In fact, it’s UNFATHOMABLE.
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, also said that the Espionage Act, which was one of the laws that led to the investigation, should be thrown out.
But because the reasons keep changing, it's hard for Republicans, many of whom want to make the former president happy, to come up with a single defense.
They have different ideas about whether to attack the top law enforcement agencies in the country and how aggressively to do so.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia who is being used by the National Republican Congressional Committee to raise money, has started selling items that say "Defund the FBI."
This is a very different approach than the one Rep. Michael R. Turner of Ohio took on Sunday when he defended Mr. Trump as the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee.
The committee's Republican members have reiterated their continued support for police enforcement.
However, they insisted that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland still faced difficult questions about his decision to take the unprecedented step of ordering a search of the former president's house and that they would ensure the Justice Department was held to account.
Conclusion
The FBI conducted a search of Mar-a-Lago, a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, because the US Department of Justice believes the former president committed a crime.
Earlier this year, that agency announced that it had recovered 15 boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago that Mr. Trump was supposed to hand over when he left the White House.
It claimed they contained classified information and requested an investigation by the Justice Department.
However, Adam B. Schiff, the head of the Intelligence Committee, has ordered the DNI to undertake an "urgent investigation and damage assessment" and brief Congress on how Trump's handling of materials may have impacted national security.
Jump to
Paula M. Graham
Author
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
Latest Articles
Popular Articles