Members of the GOP are demanding answers after former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by the FBI on Monday.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee
, called for an “immediate briefing” on the matter in a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray.
TRUMP SAYS FBI ‘RAIDED’ MAR-A-LAGO
“Congress deserves immediate answers from you as to the actions you ordered,” Turner wrote, according to the letter, which was reviewed by the Washington Examiner. “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.”
Turner also took to social media, writing he remained “skeptical” about the raid being “anything other than politically motivated.”
I am exceptionally skeptical of this being anything other than politically motivated. There are serious questions about the unprecedented FBI raid reportedly seeking classified materials from former President Trump’s residence.
— US Rep. Mike Turner (@RepMikeTurner) August 9, 2022
Other members of the GOP expressed concern, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) threatening to open an investigation into Attorney General Merrick Garland for approving the raid if the Republicans take back the majority in the House.
“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,” McCarthy tweeted.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) demanded answers, tweeting the FBI “must explain what they were doing today & why.”
Dozens of Trump’s supporters flocked to the perimeter of his private residence in Mar-a-Lago on Monday night, with some holding Trump-Pence flags and other “Make America Great Again” paraphernalia to protest the raid.
The raid appears to be related to boxes of materials Trump brought back with him to his resort in Florida after leaving the White House, according to multiple reports. Records kept at Mar-a-Lago were collected by the National Archives and Records Administration in January after the agency identified documents removed from the White House.
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The agency said its officials obtained 15 boxes of records from Mar-a-Lago, including materials marked as classified national security information, that were not given to the National Archives, as is required by the Presidential Records Act.
Eric Trump, who was with his father in New York City when they heard of the FBI search, claimed on Fox News on Monday night that the former president had cooperated with the National Archives “for months” and called the raid “just more political persecution of Donald J. Trump.”
