House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chastised Republicans for their rhetorical assaults on the FBI in the wake of Monday’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
‘You’d think there’d be an adult in the Republican room saying, just calm down, see what the facts are, and let’s proceed from there instead of – again – initiating attacks on law enforcement,’ Pelosi said during a news conference on Friday. The suspect is thought to have been in Washington, D.C. around the time of the January 6 Capitol incident, although he was not one of those accused with ransacking the Capitol.
At a news conference on Capitol Hill on Friday morning, several House Republicans resumed their rhetorical attack on the FBI.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House, slammed the agency, saying the raid was a “gross misuse and overuse of its jurisdiction.”
‘And, sadly, as the American people know, this is the same agency leadership that protected Hillary Clinton, James Comey, and continues to defend Hunter Biden,’ Stefanik added.
The FBI is now led by a Trump appointee, Christopher Wray, and the DOJ’s own inspector general had chastised Comey for his handling of the Clinton investigation in the run-up to the 2016 election, speaking publicly about it while the investigation into the Trump campaign’s Russia ties remained quiet.
Hunter Biden is the subject of a federal investigation.
Mississippi Republican Rep. Trent Kelly said Attorney General Merrick Garland and the FBI ought to be held responsible.
‘There is no one above the law. That was something I heard yesterday. ‘No one is above the law, even the Attorney General and the FBI’s seventh floor,’ he stated.
‘What makes you think we should trust the FBI?’ GOP Rep. Markwayne Mullin questioned reporters gathering. ‘How did they acquire our trust?’
According to the Washington Post, federal officials were concerned that Trump had sensitive materials linked to nuclear weapons among his possessions, something the ex-president has subsequently denied.
On Friday, Pelosi was asked whether she was worried by Republican language in the aftermath of the Cincinnati event.
‘As if we needed more proof than a presidential instigation of an insurgency on the Capitol to be concerned about the safety of members of Congress, our Constitution, and our law enforcement,’ Pelosi added.
Pelosi also stated that legislators met via Zoom on Tuesday, one day after the raid, and were informed on ‘increased security for members and their employees and families,’ which she blamed on ‘inflamed emotions that have no foundation in fact.’
‘There are no assurances. We agree to this. ‘We have to perform our duties,’ the House Speaker said.
‘I’ve known how nasty they can be for a long time – but it’s obviously been heightened, if that’s the term, aggravated, by the president’s words,’ Pelosi added.
Pelosi also told reporters on Friday that she had not been informed on any steps taken by the Justice Department.