In an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have raided President Donald Trump’s home in Mar-a-Largo.
The raid was in connection with turning over records as part of an investigation into documents former President Trump allegedly took with him from the White House to his private residence when he left office in January 2021. Following a June meeting with the DOJ about additional documents that were being sought, the Justice Department and FBI felt they weren’t getting the same cooperation they had been receiving earlier in the probe, according to a source with knowledge of negotiations between Trump’s team and the federal entities.
According to Fox News, the perceived lack of cooperation is why a search warrant was requested and ultimately executed on Monday, Aug. 8 at Trump’s Palm Beach property.
Following the event being publicized, many members of the GOP were quick to speak out against this raid, with some of the most notable being former Vice President Mike Pence and Virginia’s Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Youngkin called the move “stunning” and draws comparisons to his fight for parent’s rights and Merrick Garland’s refusal to enforce the law into the decision to raid Donald Trump’s home last night.
A stunning move by the DOJ and FBI.
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.
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) August 9, 2022
Former Vice President Mike Pence demanded that the “appearance of continued partisanship” by the Justice Department be addressed after the “unprecedented” raid on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump. No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) August 9, 2022
Yesterday's action undermines public confidence in our system of justice and Attorney General Garland must give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately.
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) August 9, 2022
Governor Youngkin won his office in a massive upset in large part by campaigning against the Department of Justice’s ham-handed attempts to intimidate parents out of school board meetings, a shameful politicization that backfired on Democrats. Hotair wrote a piece praising his response, a response that does the job of connecting the dots of what won him his seat, and the DOJ’s actions in a manner that will immediately resonate — and immediately remind Republican primary voters who has already been on the front lines of this fight.
Another interesting Virginia response is from Sen. Jen Kiggans, the Republican nominee in a close congressional race in the Hampton Roads area, who tweeted “The dangerous precedent the Democrats set yesterday by weaponizing the FBI should anger and frighten every American.”
The dangerous precedent the Democrats set yesterday by weaponizing the FBI should anger and frighten every American. All to settle old political scores and silence their political opponents – it’s corrupt and it’s flat out unacceptable. https://t.co/V3A6WEJACE
— Jen Kiggans (@JenKiggans) August 9, 2022
Kiggans was responding to an earlier statement from her opponent, Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, a member of the congressional Jan. 6 committee who was pointing to Republican threats to investigate the Department of Justice if the GOP wins back control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“There is no way to defend Trump, only to deflect,” Luria said.