WASHINGTON — As political reaction reached a boil over the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Mitch McConnell was standing in Eastern Kentucky attending to the aftermath of calamitous flooding there.
McConnell initially offered no comment on the legal predicament of his nemesis. But saying nothing only stoked Trump allies with frustration, suspicion and conspiracy theories.
“Republican LEADER Mitch McConnell has remained SILENT about the storming of the HOME of a Republican president,” tweeted Newsmax media personality Benny Johnson.
“Who’s surprised?” chimed in the Tucker Carlson-founded Daily Caller.
Several hours later on Tuesday evening, McConnell’s office produced a 38-word statement that asked for rapid transparency from the Justice Department but steered clear of any political judgment.
“The country deserves a thorough and immediate explanation of what led to the events of Monday,” McConnell said in the written statement. “Attorney General (Merrick) Garland and the Department of Justice should already have provided answers to the American people and must do so immediately.”
“Limp & late,” replied Laura Ingraham, the Fox News host.
The furious conservative reaction – to McConnell’s reaction – on the latest potential turmoil engulfing the 45th president is a fierce reminder to the Senate GOP leader that often his most tenacious foes are from those inside his own party’s tent who continue to place unwavering loyalty to Trump over government institutions and law enforcement.
McConnell’s response was glaringly muted compared to that of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who charged the Justice Department with “weaponized politicization” and promised investigations of the search if the GOP retakes control of the lower chamber next year.
On Wednesday, as he continued touring flood damage, McConnell reiterated the need for an explanation from Garland on what prompted the search of Trump’s home.
“Hopefully that will be forthcoming,” he said.
That seems unlikely, at least in the near future.
The Justice Department rarely comments on ongoing criminal investigations. When former FBI Director James Comey announced the reopening of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails just days before the 2016 presidential election, critics complained that he offered too few details for the public to fully understand the nature of the disclosure.
Sources have told other media outlets that the search was linked to missing documents from the National Archives that Trump took with him when he left office.
But Trump himself could supply more information about the seizure, since his attorneys were likely supplied with a justification for the search warrant and an inventory of what agents took with them.
Appearing on Fox News Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul staked out one of the most extreme positions, suggesting the FBI could have planted evidence on Trump during their seizure.
“How do we know that they’re going to be honest with us about what’s actually in the boxes?” Paul asked. “How do we know that was in box before it left the residence if the lawyers weren’t allowed to see everything?”
Rep. Andy Barr of Lexington said because the FBI previously used a “weaponized” dossier to investigate Trump, triggering a special counsel while he was president, federal law enforcement should declare their reasoning for the search.
“The FBI and DOJ owe the American people far more information and absolute transparency on the details of this operation and its justification, if any,” Barr said. “If they fail to provide this, Republicans in Congress must work tirelessly to extract answers from the FBI and DOJ through congressional hearings and oversight to hold them to account.”
Rep. James Comer said the number of intelligence failures in recent years shows the imperative to reform the FBI.
“This is the deep state. The deep state is real,” Comer said during an appearance on Newsmax. “What I’ve seen that the National Archives was concerned about Trump having in his possession, didn’t amount to a hill of beans. Now there could be more, we’ve requested that information. But thus far what we’ve seen does not warrant what the FBI did.”
Russell Warren, a Trump-endorsed former FBI special agent now running for attorney general of Kentucky said only “near-term public transparency” would help explain “such a jaw dropping action.”
“The reality is half the country will look on this with a jaundiced eye and transparency would help reassure the American people,” said Coleman. “We need confidence in institutions, and some transparency here would help restore that. All we know is there’s a dispute over paperwork, which to many Americans would make a raid seem like politically motivated overkill.”
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