The F.B.I.’s search of former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida drew swift condemnation on Monday evening from some Republican governors who quickly backed Mr. Trump’s message that the Justice Department was being used against him.
Mr. Trump decried the search — which appears to be focused on potentially classified material he took from the White House to his Palm Beach home — in a statement as a “weaponization of the justice system” and an effort to prevent him from running for president again in 2024.
Gov. Ron DeSantis from Florida and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, both Republicans, doubled down on Mr. Trump’s language in statements of their own, denouncing the “weaponization” of the federal government.
“They’ve been after President Trump as a candidate, as President, and now as a former President,” Governor Noem wrote on Twitterreferring to the Justice Department. “Using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas, a former U.S. Attorney, said on Twitter that the search was “unprecedented & alarming” and that the probable cause affidavit authorizing the search should be publicly released.
“Normally that would be under seal but since Trump announced the raid then the probable cause should be made public,” he wrote.
In Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote on Twitter that the search was evidence of “the politicization of the FBI against Donald Trump that started before he was even elected and continues to this day.”
House Republicans loyal Trump supporters vented their disapproval at the F.B.I. leadership. and the Justice Department.
Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, threatened “immediate oversight” of the Justice Department if Republicans retook the House in the November midterm elections — and warned that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland would be targeted.
“Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar,” he wrote in a statement.
Fox News Monday evening. Representative Jim Jordan from Ohio, an ally of Donald Trump, demanded answers by Christopher Wray and Mr. Garland, the F.B.I. director.
“What were you really doing? What were you looking for?” he said. “Why not talk to President Trump and have him give the information you’re after? This is unbelievable.”
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