Trump’s Georgia allies slam FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search
Trump’s Georgia allies slam FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search
August 9, 2022
Also in today’s edition of Swing State Georgia:
One reminder about who picked the FBI Director.
Rudy Giuliani tries to avoid his subpoena.
Remote court hearing draws obscene comments.
Democrats are on a winning streak. A federal climate and tax package is on the cusp of reaching President Joe Biden’s desk. Financial indicators show inflation is slowing. His administration presided over the killing of Al-Qaeda’s leader and NATO’s expansion.
Could the FBI’s growing probe into the final stage of Donald Trump’s presidency, crystallized by the search of his Florida estate Monday, threaten to distract attention from that momentum?
The FBI search came as Trump nears an announcement for what is likely to be a third bid for the White House, a move that could help inoculate him from investigations like the ongoing Fulton County special grand jury probe into his attempts to reverse his 2020 defeat.
Some Georgia Republicans privately – and a handful publicly – predicted the widening probe could energize Trump supporters who see the ongoing investigation as a witch hunt.
“If Donald Trump is elected president in 2024,” said former state Sen. Josh McKoon, “Aug. 8, 2022 will be seen as the day that made it possible.”
Trump’s staunchest Georgia allies in Congress, like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, accused Democrats of “weaponizing” the FBI and called for a congressional investigation into the bureau if Republicans take control of Congress in November.
“DEFUND THE FBI!” Greene tweeted.
Other Georgia Republicans were more circumspect. U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk called the FBI search “unprecedented and highly concerning,” though Loudermilk did manage to work in a mention of Hunter Biden’s laptop. Still others, like Gov. Brian Kemp and longtime Trump pal Herschel Walker, stayed mum.
Democrats had a ready response to the FBI’s activity. State Rep. Scott Holcomb, a DeKalb Democrat and former prosecutor, said “undoubtedly the evidence of probable cause was extremely strong and carefully reviewed.”
“And it had to be approved by a federal judge,” he said. “The reaction by some conservatives, crying of victimization and condemning law enforcement, is stunning.”
Swing State's paid subscribers receive text alerts from our reporting team. See below for how to sign up.ATLANTA CONNECTION. Amidst all of the GOP outrage over the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, we should remind our readers of one fact: Donald Trump nominated the current FBI director.
Trump picked Atlanta attorney Chris Wray in 2017 after firing his predecessor, James Comey, amid a probe into whether the then-president’s advisers conspired with Russian operatives to influence the 2016 vote.
PLANES, TRAINS. Lawyers for Rudy Giuliani are expected in Fulton County Superior Court today seeking a delay for the former Trump attorney, who has been subpoenaed to appear in person before the special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump.
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