WASHINGTON D.C. — As the U.S. Department of Justice is remaining tight-lipped about the FBI raid of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, the reaction on Capitol Hill is mixed along party lines.
Trump and Republicans in Congress are calling it politically motivated.
On his social media site Truth Social, Trump said: “After working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate. It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice system, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024.”
“Thirty FBI agents raiding Mar-a-Lago, not looking for a fugitive,” said Rubio in a video post. “Thirty FBI agents in a high-profile raid over a documents dispute… Sending 30 FBI agents on a raid like this for one purpose and that is to try to politically harm and intimidate their political opponents.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), took to Twitter to criticize the FBI raid a few hours after it took place.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said if the GOP wins the majority of the House in the November midterms, he intends to direct the House Oversight Committee to investigate Attorney General Merrick Garland over the raid.
“Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar,” McCarthy wrote.
Democrat leadership in Congress has been largely silent about the raid and has walked a fine line.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told NBC News she doesn’t know much about it and said it will be interesting to learn more about the warrant.
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had not released a statement about the raid as of Tuesday afternoon and his office has not responded to our request for comment about it.
A spokesperson for the Chairman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack said they decline to comment.
Multiple media outlets report the raid is allegedly connected to the mishandling of classified records.
According to the National Archives, the Presidential Records Act took effect during the Reagan administration.
It requires records from the President and Vice President, whether they are electronic or paper documents, to be stored at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
We asked the DOJ if Garland directly approved the raid and a department spokesperson said it declines to comment.