The FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is "automatically political," according to Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who says the Department of Justice "hasn’t acted responsibly."
The Texas Republican appeared Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union," where he was asked about Trump having potentially kept classified information in an unsecured location at his private residence.
"I want to get to the truth," Crenshaw said. "But I will be honest with you here, it's hard to justify what the Department of Justice did here, in my opinion."
Crenshaw pointed to Trump’s apparent cooperation with authorities before the FBI raid on August 8, saying that he still hasn’t seen any evidence that the former president was asked to give any documents back.
"Why take it to this extreme extent?" Crenshaw asked, suggesting that this may be what is frustrating Republicans.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw said it is difficult to justify the DOJ authorizing the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The FBI raid, which Crenshaw called "unprecedented," was connected to an investigation into records Trump allegedly took with him from the White House to his private residence when he left office in January 2021.
TRUMP MAR-A-LAGO RAID: FLORIDA JUDGE SAYS PORTION OF AFFIDAVIT RELATED TO RAID CAN BE UNSEALED
Trump has claimed that the documents seized by agents were "all declassified."
A police officer speaks with a woman outside former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, after FBI agents raided it on Aug. 8. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
Crenshaw suggested that the action against Trump was politically motivated.
"And you know that when you're going after an ex-president who may run again, that this is automatically political," the Republican congressman said. "You can't separate the legal aspects of this from the political aspects of it. You can't. And it doesn't seem to me like they've acted responsibly as a result of that."
Trump has claimed the seized documents were all declassified. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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Crenshaw added: "And look again, why not just ask [former President Trump]?"
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