This time, Donald Trump is facing a broader opposition from his own party than usual. It’s not just a few Republicans who disagree with his interpretation of the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago, Florida home.
Trump claims it is about a party-politically motivated “witch hunt” against an ex-president, the likes of which have never been seen in US history. Several members of parliament and senators are opposing the outrage rhetoric with which the Trump camp is beating down the FBI and calling for armed resistance.
Florida Senator Rick Scott claims the state used “Gestapo” methods against Trump. Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert sees the search as proof that “tyrants” rule the US and the people must be held accountable.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for “Defund the FBI,” wears a hat that says it, and distributes apparel to supporters. Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar goes even further. “We must destroy the FBI.”
Other Republicans disagree. Mike Turner of Ohio, senior conservative on the House Judiciary Committee, calls such party members to order: “We support the men and women in uniform. And we demand that we do not have to justify ourselves, but that those who make such outrageous statements have to justify themselves.”
Brian Fitzpatrick, who himself worked as an FBI agent before joining Congress as a Republican from Pennsylvania, warned on the CBS talk show Face the Nation: “I appeal to all my colleagues to weigh the weight of their… mind words.”
The house search of an ex-president was an “unprecedented action”. From this follows the responsibility of the Minister of Justice to present an “equally unprecedented justification”, Fitzpatrick stated as the motto for the partisan debate.
Tom Cole, Republican MP from Oklahoma, also follows this line: He is “against blanket criticism of prosecutors”. However, “questions arose that the FBI and the Justice Department need to answer. It seems to me that the action went too far.”
Are there cracks that could shatter the cohesion of the Republican camp three months before the congressional elections? The progressive opposition has often raised hopes that the more extreme his stance, the more extreme Trump’s stance will risk the broad support of the political right. So far this has not happened.
But now it’s about an identity-forming question. Therefore, it can lead to divisions: Who stands for “Law and Or” in the USA – Republicans or Democrats? Which party offers better support for citizens who rely on the protection of the police, FBI and secret services – not to mention the millions of US citizens who are employed there and their families? “Defund the police” has been a political rallying cry left. In sharp contrast to this, the Republicans had positioned themselves as the “law and order” party in the domestic political debate.
Moderate Democrats all the way up to President Biden consider the “defund the police” call to be unpopular and detrimental to their election chances. In the State of the Union address, Biden specifically contradicted: “Fund the Police!”
Now the Democratic Senate candidate in Ohio, Tim Ryan, has already taken up the Trump fans’ new slogan to appeal to moderate conservatives. “While our opponents are calling for ‘Defund the FBI,’ let’s fund a secure future for our children.”
For days, citizens have been able to see that Trump supporters’ agitation against the FBI can have dangerous consequences. On Thursday, an armed Trump supporter attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio and was shot dead.
On Sunday, a man drove his car into the barrier in front of the Capitol in Washington DC. He then got out and shot in the air before shooting himself.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning their employees of impending violence and armed conflict. “We are observing an increase in threats of violence against state officials on social media.” This goes as far as the threat of a “dirty bomb” and “calls for civil war and armed rebellion”.
At the same time, the argument continues as to whether the documents the FBI seized in Mar-a-Lago were “top secret” or not. Trump claims that as President he has the authority to change the classification of documents. He only took papers from the White House that he did not classify as “top secret”.
Trump’s supporters, like Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, reinforce this reading: “Everyone knows that the President has the final say,” what’s secret and what’s not.
In the debate as to whether Trump violated the “Espionage Act” by embezzling top-secret documents, the question could ultimately also be whether Trump can run again as a presidential candidate.
