GOP Launches Probe Over FBI Mar-a-Lago Raid, Rand Paul Says AG Garland Could Be Impeached

Authored by Gary Bai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Oversight GOP figures are requesting the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provide information on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) raid of former president Donald Trump’s resort in Mar-a-Lago.

“NARA’s singling out of President Trump’s handling of official records stands starkly in contrast to the way NARA has treated far clearer violations committed by politicians and officials who are not Republicans,” 20 Republicans, including numerous Committee ranking members, wrote in an Aug. 10 letter addressed to U.S. Acting Archivist Debra Wall, first published by Politico.

“To better understand the circumstances and NARA’s role, if any, in the FBI raid, Oversight Republicans request an immediate briefing on this matter,” the lawmakers wrote.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Washington, on Aug. 24, 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool)

The lawmakers’ move marks the first of the GOP’s promised effort in investigating the FBI’s Aug. 8 raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property for any underlying political motivation.

It follows shortly after the GOP in unison cast doubt over the nature of the raid—House Republicans first, and Senate ones followed—with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) promising to “leave no stone unturned” in an investigation of the Department of Justice that he says has “reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization.”

The Republican lawmakers who wrote the letter allege that “political motivation” underlies the actions of the FBI and the National Archives, as the agencies’ treatment of Trump was “so contrary” to that of other former government officials—such as former president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—whom the Republicans say also had “some Presidential Records Act violations.”

What Republicans Are Requesting

The GOP members of Congress are requesting that the NARA provide a “Member-level briefing” on the following no later than Aug. 17:

Any evidence of coordination between NARA and the FBI, or between NARA and the DOJ, on raiding the former president’s property
Any documents NARA produced and submitted to a U.S. federal court
Any documents that show NARA’s process in collecting presidential records after a presidential transition

In addition, the Republicans ask in their letter that NARA preserves records related to the warrant executed by the FBI at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort (which has, for now, yet to be unsealed), as well as any other NARA records related to Trump’s papers following Trump’s presidential term.

“The seeming weaponization of the federal government against President Biden’s political rivals cannot go unchecked, and if NARA is working to further these efforts, it will be only the latest agency to lose its credibility in the eyes of the American people under the Biden Administration,” the Republican lawmakers say in their letter.

Trump’s Presidential Records

While the FBI’s search warrant for the raid remains under seal, multiple sources close to Trump have stated that the raid was conducted, at least in name, to look for presidential records that someone is alleging Trump himself has decided to keep in Mar-a-Lago after leaving office.

Trump’s lawyer, Christina Bobb, told The Epoch Times on Tuesday that FBI agents were looking for “what they deemed to be presidential records” and seized documents from Trump’s property.

“We had been very cooperative with them before. And it’s unclear to me why they went to such drastic measures to do this. But they did. And as far as the probable cause goes, they wouldn’t give that to us,” she added.

Bobb’s comments are consistent with what NARA said in statements earlier this year about how Trump’s representatives have been cooperating in transferring presidential records, including handing over 15 boxes containing presidential records. On Tuesday, the magistrate judge who reportedly approved the search warrant ordered the Department of Justice to file a response to a motion asking for the DOJ to unseal the warrant no later than Aug. 15.

Meanwhile, Rand Paul says Attorney General Merrick Garland could face an impeachment inquiry following the raid. As the Epoch Times reports:

“Without question, I think the order to allow the raid on Mar-a-Lago on Trump’s house has to be revealed. I think we have to know under what pretense they think this is right? I think it’s going to have to wait until November till there’s a full investigation,” Paul told Fox News on Aug. 10.

While he’s never been fond of “overusing impeachment,” Paul said that “I think there has to be an investigation.”

“And if it warrants it, there’s going to have to be a look at whether or not the attorney general has misused his office for political purposes. Have they gone after a political opponent? I mean, this is beyond the pale,” Paul said in the interview. “No one would have ever imagined before that we would be using or one political party would be using the FBI to attack their political opponents.”

The party of the president tends to lose seats in midterms, while some analysts say that Republicans are poised to take back at least the House after the November elections. Democrats currently hold slim leads over Republicans in both the Senate and House.

“Now, this is really something that’s going to require an investigation,” Paul said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if the investigation leads to abuse of power that this could even lead to an impeachment of the attorney general.”

On Monday, the former president confirmed his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach was targeted in an FBI raid. Neither the Department of Justice nor the FBI has offered public comments about the matter.