WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Less than 24 hours after FBI agents searched and left former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago, the White House is remaining tight-lipped about the Justice Department’s investigation.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly said the White House would not comment on an ongoing investigation and referred questions about the search to the Justice Department.
“First off, and you’ve heard us say this many times at this podium, you’ve heard the president say this: The Justice Department conducts investigations independently, and we leave any law enforcement matters to them,” said Jean-Pierre. “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on any ongoing investigations.”
Trump supporters — and many on the right — see searching the former president’s home as government overreach and an attempt by President Biden to deter the former president from making another run for office.
The Justice Department has been investigating the discovery of boxes of White House records, some of them classified, that were taken to Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office. Sources confirmed to NewsNation that the search Monday was related to that probe.
The search has prompted criticism from some Republican lawmakers who see it as a politically-motivated abuse of power, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
“The one thing I could tell you is that I believe he was gonna run before, I am stronger in my belief now,” Graham said.
The Justice Department and the FBI have not commented publicly on the search.