House Republicans asked that the Justice Department reveal not just the warrant used to search Mar-a-Lago, but also the lengthy supporting document.
Barring former President Trump’s opposition, Attorney General Merrick Garland indicated Thursday that he will petition a court to unseal the warrant. Trump issued a statement on Friday demanding that the warrant be provided promptly. However, the government has failed to take action to produce the affidavit used to secure the order, which would expose further details about the sweeping probe against Trump. It would outline the probable cause prosecutors had for believing there was evidence of a crime hidden on Trump’s Florida golf club property. ‘It should be disclosed to us,’ said House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Mike Turner, R-Ohio, during a press conference on the affidavit on Friday.
‘We feel that even after today’s [warrant] publication, these issues will remain unresolved,’ he continued. He asked that the committee’s Democratic leaders support their request for the affidavit and supporting a subpoena if the DOJ fails to give one.
‘We want to know what this impending national security danger was that was the basis for this?’ Turner said.
‘Other than invading Mar-a-Largo, the foreign president’s residence, and spending nine hours there, there were a lot of measures open to the Attorney General and the Director of the FBI,’ Turner said. According to the Washington Post, secret nuclear weapons materials may have been among the boxes seized by the FBI. Trump dismissed the accusation as a “hoax.”
When asked whether the raid would be permissible if the goal was to recover nuclear weapons data, Turner said, ‘It depends on what the nuclear data is.’ You may mention nuclear weapons, but there are certain things that are very confidential. There are certain items that are not highly categorized.’
Utah Rep. Chris Stewart quipped that “maybe it was aliens,” but without the affidavit, no one could determine.
‘Was it nuclear in nature?’ Was it aliens, or was it something else entirely? We have no idea. We’re asking them to let us know.’
Other members of the caucus expressed skepticism in the FBI and alleged the DOJ was conducting a political witch hunt.
‘What makes you think we should have faith in the FBI?’ Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said. ‘How have they won their trust?’
Stewart likened the raid to Soviet Union-era assaults on political opponents.
‘People all across the globe want to live under an American FBI and their leadership, not an American KGB or some of the dark innuendos that come with living under an organization or a government that treats people differently,’ he said.
‘The impression is now…. that the Department of Justice and the FBI have selected a team and that they are now working against the interests of other Americans for that team.’ Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, the lone former FBI agent in Congress, questioned why the bureau picked the “most severe” approach of document retrieval.
‘Any agency implementing the law has a continuum of choices open to it, from non-invasive techniques like passive delivery of a subpoena… all the way up to the most extreme, which would be the execution of a search warrant.’
‘The Bureau, the Attorney General, and the Department of Justice apparently decided that this drastic approach was required. We shall await their explanation as to why that severe approach was chosen over a less invasive one.’
Mullin and Mississippi Rep. Trent Kelly targeted Garland specifically.
‘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,’ Kelly stated.
‘Attorney Garland declares that no one is above the law. That is something I agree with. No one, including you, Attorney General Garland, is,’ Mullin said. ‘That includes you, [FBI Director Chris Wray], and I’m here to warn you that the Republicans will hold you responsible for your conduct if the Democrats do not.’ Garland gave a press conference on Thursday, revealing that he had authorized the Mar-a-Lago raid and defending the FBI’s integrity.
He said that the DOJ requested that the search warrant be made public “in view of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances, and the great public interest in this case.”
Garland would not take questions, but he went out of his way to condemn the recent verbal assaults and threats against law officers in the aftermath of the ‘raid.’
‘I’d want to respond to recent unjustified assaults on the professionalism of FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors. ‘I will not remain quiet when their integrity is wrongly challenged,’ said a Biden official.
‘The FBI and Justice Department men and women are committed, patriotic public servants. They defend the American people from violent crime, terrorism, and other dangers to their safety every day, all while protecting our civil rights. They do it at tremendous personal cost and danger to themselves.’ Trump had until 3 p.m. Friday to object to the warrant’s publication, which had to be opened by Monday. However, it may be severely censored, especially if it contains private information.
Trump stated his position in a post on his Truth Social network. ‘Not only will I not oppose the release of information pertaining to the un-American, unlawful, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my residence in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago,’ he said, ‘but I will go a step further by ENCOURAGING the quick release of those materials.’
Trump went on to say that he supported the warrant’s publication despite the fact that it was “drafted by extreme left Democrats and potential future political opponents who have a strong and vested interest in destroying me.”
He also likened revelations about nuclear weapons to suspicions of Russian cooperation.
‘The nuclear weapons threat is a hoax, just as Russia, Russia, Russia was a hoax, two impeachments were a hoax, the Mueller probe was a hoax, and much more,’ Trump tweeted on Friday.
‘Same sleazy individuals involved,’ he continued. Why wouldn’t the FBI allow an investigation of Mar-a-Lago locations with our lawyer or others present? They were made to wait outdoors in the heat, wouldn’t allow them approach near, and said “ABSOLUTELY NOT.” Anyone interested in plant information? It’s like a Christofer (sic) Steele Dossier!