The F.B.I.’s search of former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida drew swift condemnation on Monday night from some Republican governors who rapidly backed Mr. Trump’s message that the Justice Department was getting used towards him.
Mr. Trump decried the search — which seems to be targeted on doubtlessly labeled materials he took from the White House to his Palm Beach residence — in a press release as a “weaponization of the justice system” and an effort to forestall him from operating for president once more in 2024.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, each Republicans, doubled down on Mr. Trump’s language in statements of their very own, denouncing the “weaponization” of the federal authorities.
“They’ve been after President Trump as a candidate, as President, and now as a former President,” Governor Noem wrote on Twitter, referring to the Justice Department. “Using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, a former U.S. legal professional, said on Twitter that the search was “unprecedented & alarming” and that the possible trigger affidavit authorizing the search ought to be publicly launched.
“Normally that would be under seal but since Trump announced the raid then the probable cause should be made public,” he wrote.
In Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote on Twitter that the search was proof of “the politicization of the FBI against Donald Trump that started before he was even elected and continues to this day.”
House Republicans loyal to Mr. Trump directed their ire on the management of the F.B.I. and the Justice Department.
Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority chief, threatened “immediate oversight” of the Justice Department if Republicans retook the House within the November midterm elections — and warned that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland could be focused.
“Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar,” he wrote in a press release.
On Fox News on Monday night, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a detailed ally of Mr. Trump, demanded solutions from Mr. Garland and Christopher Wray, the F.B.I. director.
“What were you really doing? What were you looking for?” he stated. “Why not talk to President Trump and have him give the information you’re after? This is unbelievable.”
