The FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home drew wide reaction in Washington from Trump allies claiming the Justice Department overreached to lawmakers backing up the agencies unprecedented action.
Here’s the latest on what we know:
- Why did they search his home?: Two people familiar with the search told USA TODAY the action was connected to Trump’s alleged removal of documents from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago property when his term in office was over.
- What investigations involving Trump are there?: In February, the National Archives said it had contacted the Justice Department about Trump’s removal of classified material from the White House. An Atlanta-area grand jury is hearing testimony in an investigation of whether Trump tried to meddle in the 2020 election. And the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot concluded its first round of hearings last month
- Politically motivated?: As Republicans lobbed accusations that the FBI’s search was an effort by President Joe Biden’s administration to target a political opponent, the organization that represents FBI agents defended the agency’s work.
- Mike Pence: “I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump.”
- Republicans vow to investigate: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and others in his caucus have vowed to investigate the Justice Department should Republicans win control of Congress in November.
- No comment: The Justice Department has not commented on the search.
A breakdown of the Trump investigations: Trump in midst of gathering storm of investigations. Mar-a-Lago document inquiry is one of many.
Biden not told of search on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, White House says
President Joe Biden was not informed of the FBI search on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the White House said Tuesday.
“No, the president was not briefed, was not aware of it,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the press briefing. “No one at the White House was given a heads up.”
Jean-Pierre said Biden learned about the search from public reports.
“We learned just like the American public did yesterday,” she said.
Some Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for the search, accusing the FBI’s actions of being “politically motivated.”
Jean-Pierre said the Justice Department conducts its investigations independently and declined to comment on the department’s investigation.
– Rebecca Morin
Mitch McConnell silent on search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and top-elected member of the party in Congress, had not responded to the FBI search as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Calls and emails to his office seeking comment from USA TODAY went unanswered.
His silence stands out as Republican leaders in the House and some senators below him have called for an investigation into the FBI, Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called for Garland to be impeached and for FBI Director Christopher Wray to be removed.
– Candy Woodall
Ex-Trump administration official criticizes Republican leaders for defending former president over Mar-a-Lago search
One former senior Trump administration official criticized Republican leaders Tuesday, saying their defense of the former president over the Mar-a-Lago search is hurting America’s standing on the global stage.
“Happy to see the FBI doing its job. No one is above the law,” said Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for South and Central Asia on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2021.
Curtis told USA TODAY that is “very disappointed with most Republican leaders who won’t stand up for democracy in the United States and admit that January 6th has been enormously harmful to our country and its ability to influence global developments.”
“The United States is no longer seen as an example of democracy for other countries to emulate,” said Curtis, who has more than 20 years of service in the U.S. government, including at the NSC, CIA, State Department, and Capitol Hill. “It’s painful for me as I have spent the last 30 years of my career trying to promote our democratic ideals and practices overseas in places that desperately need democratic champions.”
– Josh Meyer
Constitutional and criminal law scholar calls on Trump to release the details of the search warrant
Constitutional and criminal law scholar Neal Katyal, the former acting U.S. solicitor general, challenged Trump on Tuesday to disclose the contents of the court-approved search warrant so that the public can decide if the Justice Department has engaged in an abuse of power.
Katyal, the Paul Saunders Professor at Georgetown University, said Trump could easily share the details of the warrant, since he was given a copy of it by the federal agents who executed the search, per U.S. policy.
“Search of Trump abusive? Law enforcement leaves a copy of the search warrant, which itemizes what they are looking for and what laws were violated,” Katyal said in a tweet. “If Trump/RNC think this search signed off on by a fed judge is abusive & they have nothing to hide, release the warrant to the public.”
– Josh Meyer
Mike Pence reacts to Mar-a-Lago search: Pence expresses ‘deep concern’ over Mar-a-Lago search, asks for ‘full accounting’ from Garland
Monmouth poll: 41% of Americans favor charging Trump in Jan. 6
More than four-in-10 Americans believe former President Donald Trump should be charged with crimes related to his involvement in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a new poll published Tuesday.
According to the Monmouth University poll, 41% of Americans say they favor charging Trump. Of that number, 73% identify as Democrats, 43% are Independent and just 3% were Republican.
However, 34% said they oppose charging Trump, with 66% being Republican, 37% independent and 3% Democrat. A quarter of respondents said they are not sure whether Trump should be charged.
A House committee has been investigating the Jan. 6 attack and held a series of eight televised hearings in June and July.
Monmouth poll: 40% would support Trump in 2024
Also from the Monmouth poll, a combined 40% of Americans said they definitely or probably would vote for Trump if he ran for president again in 2024. But nearly half, 48%, of Americans said they definitely would not vote for Trump and 8% said they probably wouldn’t support the former president.
The poll was published a day after the FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. It was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute from July 28 to Aug. 1, with 808 adults age 18 and older surveyed. There is a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
– Rebecca Morin
Trump seeks political donations over FBI search of his home
Donald Trump is looking to capitalize on the FBI search of his Florida home – through political fundraising.
In an email solicitation, Trump tells potential donors that “these are dark times for our Nation,” and the political establishment is “trying to stop the Republican Party and me once more.”
“As long as I have your support, I will continue to fight for the Great American People,” says the Trump email. “I need every single red-blooded American Patriot to step up during this time.”
– David Jackson
Mike Pence expresses ‘deep concern’ about search of Trump’s house
Many Republicans are rallying around Donald Trump after the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate – some more aggressively than others.
While House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans vowed to investigate the Department of Justice over the search, Vice President Mike Pence issued a tweet expressing his “concern” over the incident.
“I share the deep concern of millions of Americans over the unprecedented search of the personal residence of President Trump,” Pence tweeted.
Pence