In a statement posted to his Truth Social network, Trump said the raid was part of a long history of being politically targeted by federal law enforcement. Trump described his home as "under siege, raided, and occupied" despite what he said was his cooperation with "Government agencies." Trump said FBI agents even "broke into my safe!"
A judge would need to sign off on a search warrant for Trump's home after the FBI presented evidence that a crime had been committed. The DOJ has not issued a public statement on the raid and the FBI declined comment to
Newsweek.
But Trump's defenders were already deeply skeptical of any evidence the FBI might have used to justify the search.
Republican Representative Don Bishop of North Carolina said
in a tweet that the FBI and DOJ are "acting as the political enforcers of the Democrat Party." Bishop demanded that the FBI hand over the information used to obtain the search warrant to the House Judiciary Committee, of which he is a member, and that Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray testify.
"
Republicans must smash the FBl into a million pieces," he said.
Republican Senator
Marco Rubio of Florida
said in a tweet that "using government power to persecute political opponents is something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships. But never before in America."