Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded Tuesday afternoon to the FBI’s raid this week on the Florida home of former President Donald Trump by demanding that federal officials provide the American public with an immediate explanation for their actions.
FBI agents executed a search warrant on Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago residence because they reportedly believed that Trump held back turning over all the classified information that was supposed to be sent back to the National Archives earlier this year.
“The country deserves a thorough and immediate explanation of what led to the events of Monday,” McConnell said in a statement. “Attorney General Garland and the Department of Justice should already have provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately.”
The strongest statement by far came from National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott (FL) who echoed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) strong statement on Monday.
“If Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray do not make public statements today explaining to the American people exactly what they did at Mar-a-Lago and why, they will have lost what little public trust they may have had and no longer deserve to remain in office,” Scott said in a statement. “All related records must be made available to Congress NOW and every Republican must demand accountability. Since President Biden claims he didn’t know, he needs to come out today and demand that all facts be presented to the American people.”
“When Republicans retake the majority in the Senate, there will be a thorough and aggressive investigation,” Scott added. “Everything needs to be on the table for AG Garland, including impeachment if he doesn’t come out today and explain what happened. Today, the nation is watching and we demand answers.”
The rest of the Senate Republican leadership put out much weaker statements that were all similar in nature.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune (SD) said that the “FBI needs to provide answers as to why they raided the home of a former American president.”
“Complete transparency is the only way to dispel the American people’s worst suspicions about the agency’s motives,” he added. “Like every other American, I await their timely explanation. Delay is not an option.”
Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (WY) tweeted: “Raiding a former president’s home is unprecedented. The Justice Department needs to quickly and transparently tell the American people who approved this raid and why it occurred.”
Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman Joni Ernst (IA) tweeted: “A totally unprecedented action by the DOJ and FBI — the same agencies who labeled parents domestic terrorists and sat on the sidelines while Justices were threatened and churches were vandalized. The American people deserve answers, now.”