A number of Republican officials have responded to the FBI investigation, characterizing it as a political attack perpetrated against Trump by the “Deep State,” a secret cabal of unelected bureaucrats who control the nation’s policies and agendas. This despite the fact that Trump himself appointed the current FBI director, Christopher Wray, at the time calling him “a man of impeccable credentials.” It is unclear whether the federal search warrant was personally approved by the Biden-appointed Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz referred to the FBI search as “unprecedented,” “corrupt,” and “an abuse of power.”
“Congress must demand answers. We need hearings; we need subpoenas,” Cruz said. “Dems in charge will refuse, but the American people deserve to know why Biden is using the FBI as his political enforcers.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said, “The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”
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Some Republicans, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called to defund the FBI, a marked pivot from GOP messaging regarding the “Defund the Police” movement, which arose as a response to police brutality in cases involving people of color.
Groups of Trump supporters arrived at Mar-a-Lago Monday evening to protest the FBI search.
Christian Leaders React
As news of the FBI search broke, Christian leaders took to social media with their reactions.
Author and Texas pastor Jack Graham said, “This is a really good time to pray for our democracy. A raid of the former President’s residence is an unprecedented attack by the deep state upon the spirit of the American people.”
Christian historian John Fea responded to Graham’s tweet with a thread of his own.
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“1. Would Jack write the same tweet if this happened to Obama or Biden? 2. There are many ways to pray for our democracy. 3. The ‘deep state’ reference reflects a long history of conspiratorial thinking in evangelicalism,” Fea said. “4. ‘Spirit of the American people?’ Does Graham realize Trump’s approval rating during his term rarely made it above 40%? 5. Graham believes Trump is above the law, but I guess that makes sense if you believe he is God’s anointed one.”
