Free Republic

Many Republicans have rallied to former President Trump’s defense over the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home, echoing his claims that the move was politically motivated and unjustified. However, a number of GOP figures have broken ranks to defend the Department of Justice (DOJ) and critique Trump’s handling of classified material.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Sunday that deleted Secret Service texts sent the day before and day of the insurrection will be turned over to the panel by Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleges that messages from Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021 were erased as part of a planned system migration. “You can imagine how shocked we were to get the letter from the [DHS] Inspector General saying that he had been trying to get this information and that they had,...

Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Sunday defended the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, saying critics in the GOP need to “pull back on casting judgment.” “The FBI is simply carrying out their responsibilities under the law, a lawful search warrant that a magistrate signed off on. And they didn’t go in there with FBI raid jackets. They tried to constrain their behavior carrying out that warrant,” Hutchinson said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” calling on fellow Republicans to “stand with” law enforcement. “If the GOP is going to be the party...