House Republicans on Monday sent letters to top officials in the Biden administration demanding they preserve and hand over documents related to the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Eighteen Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee sent the letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
“The FBI’s unprecedented raid of President Trump’s residence is a shocking escalation of the Biden Administration’s weaponization of law-enforcement resources against its political opponents,” each letter begins.
“The American people deserve transparency and accountability from our most senior law-enforcement officials in the executive branch,” it continues. “We will settle for nothing but your complete cooperation with our inquiry.”
The correspondence demands that each department preserve “all documents and communications” related to the raid and produce them to the committee “no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 29, 2022.”
House Republicans have sent letters to top officials in the Biden administration demanding they send to Congress documents and communications about the FBI search of Trump’s residence. https://t.co/WMN9zN63mQ
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) August 15, 2022
Republicans Demand FBI, DOJ Preserve and Release Documents
The letters from House Republicans to Biden administration officials demanding they preserve and release documents related to the unprecedented raid on the President’s main political opponent are more symbolic for the time being.
The GOP does not have subpoena power as the minority in the House of Representatives.
Still, the move signals an intensification of possible probes into the matter should the GOP win back the House following the midterms.
BREAKING: Top Senate Republicans PROMISE to investigate DOJ, FBI over SHAM Mar-a-Lago Raid— Police-state EXPOSED?! pic.twitter.com/z0exXvJ4ib
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 15, 2022
The letters come just days after Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) vowed that the Senate would investigate the raid should Republicans wrestle back control in November.
“If I’m in the majority, and I’m Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, again, I intend to pursue all of these things until we get to the bottom of it,” Grassley told Breitbart News over the weekend.
Preserve your documents. pic.twitter.com/FeuIOQE42w
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 15, 2022
Demand a Briefing From DHS
Republican lawmakers late last week demanded a Homeland Security briefing by the FBI, Department of Justice, and National Archives following news that Garland gave a personal greenlight to the raid on Trump’s home.
But, as Fox News host Jesse Waters pointed out to Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) – Republicans like to talk a lot about what they’re going to do regarding the unprecedented harassment directed at Trump, but will they actually take action?
MUST WATCH: @JesseBWatters SLAMS @LindseyGrahamSC for being all talk, no action!
Lindsey gives bs answer after bs answer, but Watters kept pushing back.
Great job, Jesse! pic.twitter.com/4VWSSfM1Pp
— Alex Bruesewitz ? (@alexbruesewitz) August 9, 2022
Democrats certainly would. They threatened impeachment for months upon months then acted when they found the first opening. Then they did it again.
And quite obviously, the harassment has never ended.
Not sure what’s better: Jesse Watters getting PO’d or Lindsey Graham squirming.https://t.co/NGgX4aqEFx
— Unaffiliated Voter (@WayneDupreeShow) August 10, 2022
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was one of the first to call for a probe into Garland’s actions, saying on the very day of the raid that he had “seen enough.”
“Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar,” he wrote.
Democrats have countered the GOP’s efforts with Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) sending their own letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
That letter seeks a national security damage assessment on the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump has claimed all documents in his Mar-a-Lago home were “declassified” and insisted officials “didn’t need to ‘seize’ anything. They could have had it at any time.”
The FBI under the direction of Garland fetched the documents – including ancillary material such as Trump’s passports that they have since returned – and now the Democrats are going to use them to investigate the former President yet again.
Do Republicans understand they need to be equally as relentless in order to stop this level of corruption?
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