After the search of former US President Donald Trump’s Florida property on Monday, several high-ranking party colleagues supported him. Meanwhile, Republican Trump continued to attack the search, calling it a “coordinated attack” by the Democrats.
“Our cities are rife with criminals, but Garland’s politicized Justice Department is targeting President Trump and members of Congress,” House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Influential Republican Mitch McConnell, whom Trump himself repeatedly denigrates as an “old crow”, called for an immediate clarification of events. Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley made a similar statement.
Cell phone seized from confidant
The Axios news portal reported last night (local time) that the FBI had confiscated the cell phone of Trump ally Rick Perry. This is yet another sign that the investigation into the 2021 US Capitol attack is gaining traction.
Perry was part of the team around Trump that was actively working to overturn the 2020 election result. In a statement, Perry said three agents confiscated his phone while he was with his family. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
FBI took twelve boxes
Meanwhile, more and more details about the action’s background are becoming known. According to media reports, officials assumed that Trump’s team had not returned all of the documents the former president had taken from the White House after his term.
Investigators are said to have visited Trump’s estate in the spring to speak with his team about government documents, US media reported. Officials eventually suspected that Trump or his team were still guarding important documents, the Washington Post wrote, citing anonymous sources. The FBI is said to have taken twelve boxes during the search.
Trump continued to complain about yesterday’s search on the Truth Social network that he co-founded. “A terrible thing happened in Mar-a-Lago yesterday. We are no better than a third world country, a banana republic,” he wrote. He accused his successor Joe Biden of knowing about the search in advance. The White House rejected this.