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Republicans threaten probe of DOJ after FBI serves search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

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Republicans threaten probe of DOJ after FBI serves search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

Aug 09, 2022 | 1:36 pm ET
By Emily Zantow/Courthouse News Service
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Republicans threaten probe of DOJ after FBI serves search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
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Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort where he resides after leaving the White House on Feb. 13, 2021. Photo by Joe Raedle | Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Democrats are emphasizing that no one is above the law while Republicans are threatening an investigation of the Justice Department and attorney general after the FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s south Florida home on Monday.

“These are dark times for our nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said in a statement Monday night confirming the search. “They even broke into my safe.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the raid a “major step” during a Tuesday morning interview on NBC’s “Today Show.”

“[Democrats] believe in the rule of law, and that’s what our country is about and no person is above the law, not even the president of the United States, not even a former president of the United States,” she said.

Pelosi, who has made her disdain for the former president well-known, is the highest-ranking Democrat to comment on the search so far.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is threatening to launch an investigation into the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“I’ve seen enough,” the California Republican said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.”

He added, “When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned.”

The Republican House leader left the attorney general with a warning: “Preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”

The FBI and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the purpose of the search, but it comes amid ongoing Department of Justice investigations linked to the 45th president, including the handling of presidential records and the effort to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory.

Trump’s attorney Christina Bobb told CNN that the FBI “seized paper” during the “unannounced” raid on the home of the former president, who, along with his legal team, “have been cooperative with FBI and DOJ officials every step of the way.”

“The purpose of the raid, from what they said, was because the National Archives wanted to, you know, corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession,” the former president’s son Eric Trump told told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night.

In January, the National Archives retrieved at least 15 boxes of White House records from Mar-a-Lago that should have been given to the agency when Trump left office, according to a February report by The Washington Post.

This article was first published by Courthouse News Service and is republished under their terms of use