Republican Lawmakers Accuse Biden Administration of ‘Weaponizing’ FBI after Trump Raid

Following the FBI’s raid on former president Trump’s Florida home Monday, GOP politicians and pundits rushed to his defense, condemning the alleged weaponization of the agency against political opponents and demanding an explanation for the unprecedented action by federal authorities.

2024 hopefuls including Republicans Senator Ted Cruz, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem decried the surprise storming of Trump’s Palm Beach estate. DeSantis called it “another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents.” Noem said it was “un-American.”

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin drew parallels between this raid and the intimidation campaign the Department of Justice launched against parents who protested progressive curricula and Covid-19 restrictions at school board meetings last September.

“A stunning move by the DOJ and FBI,” he tweeted. “This same DOJ labeled parents in Loudoun County as terrorists and failed to enforce federal law to protect Justices in their homes. Selective, politically motivated actions have no place in our democracy.”

A chorus of other GOP lawmakers joined in the outrage, with Senator Rand Paul calling the ransacking “outrageous and unjust,” Senator Marsha Blackburn declaring “I stand with President Trump,” and Senator Marco Rubio comparing it to “3rd world Marxist dictatorships.” Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted that “launching such an investigation of a former President this close to an election is beyond problematic.”

Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott tweeted, “The @FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago is incredibly concerning, especially given the Biden admin’s history of going after parents & other political opponents. This is 3rd World country stuff. We need answers NOW. The FBI must explain what they were doing today & why.”

The rest of GOP Senate leadership has so far remained silent on the subject. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Whip John Thune, Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, Republican Policy Committee Chairman Roy Blunt, and Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference Joni Ernst have yet to comment on the incident.

In the House, GOP leadership denounced the Mar-a-Lago bust outright, implying that it was a coordinated heist by the Democrats and the Biden administration. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vowed to take a scorched earth approach to FBI accountability if the GOP reclaims its majority in the chamber in the 2022 midterms.

“I’ve seen enough,” McCarthy tweeted. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization. When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned. Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”

Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Republican Conference Chairman Representative Elise Stefanik echoed McCarthy, both using the term political “weaponization” to describe what happened at Mar-a-Lago.

Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz suggested that the raid appeared extreme and potentially unjustified based on his legal knowledge, corroborating concerns that it could have been politically motivated.

“The raid is supposed to be a last-minute resort but this administration has used the weaponization of the justice system against its political enemies,” Dershowitz said on a Newsmax appearance Tuesday. “I just hope this raid has a justification. If it doesn’t have a justification, the material seized in it will be suppressed.”

Dershowitz said the government will have to prove that it had a reasonable basis for believing that the evidence sought in their presumed investigation involving Trump would be destroyed if they didn’t confiscate it forcibly.

“Unless there is evidence that we’re not aware of, this is improper and it is misconduct and we have to find out what the facts are. But we have to make sure that the shoe fits on the other foot. We want to make sure that what’s being done here is something that the press would not oppose if it were being done to Democratic operatives as well,” he added.

Other reporters and pundits predicted that the raid might serve as fuel for an early Trump 2024 presidential bid announcement.

“What I’m hearing from several sources close to Trump: he’s digesting the news, keeping close eye on coverage. Some allies are urging him to speed up his decision on 2024 in the wake of this, that no one in GOP will challenge him now… others are telling him to stay cool, wait,” Robert Costa, Chief Election & Campaign Correspondent for CBSNews, noted.

Trump released a statement Monday while the raid was ongoing. He claimed that he had been working with federal authorities for months to return a trove of documents he allegedly took from the White House after his presidency but never expected a sudden break-in.

“[M]y beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump wrote in a statement Monday after the FBI raid, which was reportedly conducted with a search warrant obtained in Palm Beach County. “They even broke into my safe!”

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” he added.

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