White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that President Biden was not made aware that the FBI planned to search former president Donald Trump’s personal residence at Mar-a-Lago before the action was carried out on Monday.
“What I can tell you definitively and for sure, he was not aware of this,” Jean-Pierre said of Biden. “Nobody at the White House was. Nobody was given a heads up and we did not know about what happened yesterday.”
Asked if the president is concerned about the potential for politically fueled violence in the wake of the raid, she said: “We would ask Americans to remain peaceful at this time.”
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre when asked by @ZekeJMiller if the White House is concerned about the “signal it sends to the rest of the world” when the FBI searches Mar-a-Lago and seizes documents from Trump:
“The Justice Department conducts investigations independently.” pic.twitter.com/6b6OQKA1ql
— The Recount (@therecount) August 9, 2022
Jean-Pierre dodged a question about whether the White House is concerned about the raid, given the domestic political climate and the signal that it sends to the rest of the world.
“The Justice Department conducts investigations independently and we leave any law enforcement matters to them,” she said. “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on any ongoing investigations. I can say that President Biden has been unequivocal since the campaign: he believes in the rule of law, in the independence of the Justice Department investigations, that those investigations should be free from political influence and he has held that commitment as president.”
She also had a tense back and forth during the press briefing with Fox News’ Peter Doocy, who asked if the administration is “weaponizing” the Justice Department and the FBI against political opponents.
The press secretary replied, “The president believes in the rule of law. The president believes in the independence in the Department of Justice —“
Doocy then interrupted to say it was a yes or no question, to which Jean-Pierre replied: “No, it’s a yes or no for you. I’m answering the question, you may not like it but I’m answering the question.”
Fox’s Peter Doocy: “Is this administration weaponizing the Justice Department?”
Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre: “The president believes in the rule of law…”
Doocy: “That’s a yes or no.”
Jean-Pierre: “It’s a yes or no for you. I’m answering the question, you may not like it.” pic.twitter.com/uJz1WX4wrO
— The Recount (@therecount) August 9, 2022
“We are not going to comment on a criminal investigation. The president has been very clear, I laid out what his thoughts were back on January 7 in 2021 about how he saw the Department of Justice and I’m just going to leave it there. We are not going to comment from here from this White House on a criminal investigation that is currently happening.”
The press secretary declined to say if Biden has spoken with Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“I’m just not going to speak further on any any conversations,” she said. “There’s no calls for me to preview.”
Trump released a statement on Monday saying federal agents raided his private residence despite him having cooperated with authorities for months to return documents he allegedly took from the White House after his term. The National Archives and Records Administration recovered 15 boxes of records in January, including items “marked as classified national security information.”
A source told the Washington Post that an inventory of unclassified items in the recovered boxes is 100 pages long. Recovered items that were improperly taken to Mar-a-Lago include a cocktail napkin, a birthday dinner menu, a phone list, charts, slide decks, letters, memos, maps, talking points, schedules and more, according to the report.
The warrant for the search was reportedly obtained in Palm Beach County, signed by Bruce E Reinhart, magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in a statement.
Republican lawmakers blasted the unprecedented raid on a former president’s home.
Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said Tuesday that Garland “must resign or be impeached” after the FBI raid.
“The raid by Joe Biden’s FBI on the home of a former president who is also Biden’s chief political opponent is an unprecedented assault on democratic norms and the rule of law,” Hawley tweeted. “Biden has taken our republic into dangerous waters.”
“At a minimum, Garland must resign or be impeached,” he added. “The search warrant must be published. [FBI Director] Christoper Wray must be removed. And the FBI reformed top to bottom.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pledged to conduct “immediate oversight” of the Department of Justice if Republicans claim the majority in the House in the 2022 midterms.
“I’ve seen enough,” McCarthy wrote in a tweet. “The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization. When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned. Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Republican Conference Chairman Representative Elise Stefanik both similarly decried the raid as an act of political “weaponization.”