Republicans in the United States on Sunday stepped up calls for the release of an FBI statement justifying the seizure of documents at former US President Donald Trump’s home in MaraLago, Florida.
A search warrant released last week after the unprecedented investigation showed Trump had 11 sets of confidential documents in his home and that the Justice Department had probable cause to conduct the search due to possible violations of US espionage laws.
Republicans are asking for the release of more detailed information that convinced a federal judge to issue the search warrant, which can identify sources of information and details about the nature of documents and other sensitive information. The release of such testimony would be highly unusual and would require the approval of a federal judge.
“I think the release of the testimony would help, at least confirm that there was justification for this search,” Republican Senator Mike Rounds told NBC’s Meet the Press.
The Justice Department should “show that this wasn’t just a ‘fish’ expedition, that they had a reason to go in and do this, that they exhausted all other means,” Rounds said. “And if they can’t, then we have a serious problem.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.