Republican attorneys file amicus brief in support of Trump in Mar-a-Lago raid

[Geee]

Washington Examiner

 

Eleven Republican attorneys general have filed an amicus brief in support of former President Donald Trump in his legal battle over the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago home last month, denouncing the search as a “ransacking” at the hands of the Biden administration.

The amicus brief, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, comes in response to the Justice Department’s appeal of a decision to block the agency from viewing classified documents taken from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home until they can be reviewed by a third party. The DOJ has argued delaying its investigation would harm national security, but the Republican attorneys general in their legal filing Tuesday said the agency’s intentions should be considered “through jaundiced eyes.”

“Joe Biden’s commitment to weaponizing the DOJ to go after political opponents should deeply concern all Americans,” Paxton said in a statement. “Given Biden’s track record, combined with his rhetoric demonizing anyone he disagrees with, the courts must be on high alert to the ways in which DOJ may abuse its power to punish President Donald Trump.”

The 21-page amicus brief describes four examples in which the Biden administration has “leveraged its power to engage in questionable political gamesmanship” as a way to convince the courts the DOJ cannot be trusted to have immediate access to the classified documents. These examples include measures the Biden administration took in response to the coronavirus pandemic as well as its enforcement of immigration laws, among other things.