Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, downplayed concerns that former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified records posed a national security threat.
Reacting to an affidavit released on Friday that shed light on the FBI’s rationale for raiding Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, Turner criticized the redacted document for citing the National Archives in making its case for the search.
DOJ FOUND POTENTIAL ‘ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION’ IN RECORDS SEIZED FROM MAR-A-LAGO
“In the affidavit itself, they cite the archivist,” Turner said on Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News. “They don’t cite the intelligence community, they don’t cite the director of the CIA, the Department of Defense, or even the Director of National Intelligence as opining that these documents or this situation is a national security threat. They cite the archivist, so at some point, this sounds like a bookkeeping issue rather than a national security threat, because it doesn’t rise to the level of justifying raiding the former president’s home.”
Turner said it would take an “imminent” threat to justify the FBI search.
“Former President Trump’s home was raided, which was the most invasive manner in which the FBI could have gone about this,” Turner said. “The Department of Justice could have had other options. They could have gone to court and tried to have the subpoena that they had enforced by the court.”
Turner noted that a judge had announced a “preliminary intent to appoint a special master” in response to a request from Trump’s lawyers, which Turner argued shows the court being skeptical of the Justice Department’s actions.
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According to the affidavit, the “government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records.” It found “probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found.”
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and said he declassified the documents while he was president. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers that the intelligence agencies will conduct a review of the documents to determine their national security threat.
