Reactions from Florida elected officials on Biden FBI attack on Trump: “This administration has lost its mind. It is corrupt. It is political. They raid a former President, they do nothing about the border or about Hunter (Biden)"

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/545343-mar-a-lago-fbi-raid-outrages-state-republican-pols-dubbed-3rd-world-move/

Gov. Ron DeSantis was also pessimistic about the historic event. And he gave the Biden administration a new noun descriptor.

“The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves,” DeSantis tweeted. “Now the Regime is getting another 87K IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”

Two Republican members of DeSantis’ Cabinet — Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — demanded additional explanation about the raid from federal officials.

“You would expect there to be subpoenas if there was any suspect of classified information — requesting documents — as has been done in these similar cases, not 30 FBI agents rushing in on a search warrant,” Moddy said during a Fox News hit. “It is certainly unusual. And I tell you what, the charges, if there are any the allegations, this better be a rock solid case to wreck whatever respect there is right now for the FBI.”

Added Patronis on Twitter, “This administration has lost its mind. It is corrupt. It is political. They raid a former President, they do nothing about the border or about Hunter (Biden). Pure Banana Republic tactics. Only in dictatorship do they use the power of government to eliminate their enemies.”

The raid had Republican congressional candidate Anna Paulina Luna afraid and immune to the focus of the Jan. 6 hearings.

“The FBI had no reason to raid the home of President Trump,” she tweeted. “We live in dangerous times when the justice System is failing. What happened to President Trump should have NEVER happened and this event brings great dishonor on those in the FBI that still believe in our constitution.”

Reactions from Florida elected officials follow:

Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican, tweeted: “Using government power to persecute political opponents is something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships. But never before in America. After todays raid on Mar A Lago what do you think the left plans to use those 87,000 new IRS agents for? The FBI isn’t doing anything about the groups vandalizing Catholic Churches, firebombing Pro-Life groups or threatening Supreme Court justices. But they find time to raid Mar-a-Lago. (President Joe) Biden is playing with fire by using a document dispute to get the Justice Department to persecute a likely future election opponent. Because one day what goes around is going to come around. And then we become Nicaragua under (Daniel) Ortega.”

Sen. Rick Scott, a Naples Republican, tweeted: “The FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago is incredibly concerning, especially given the Biden administration’s history of going after parents and other political opponents. This is 3rd World country stuff. We need answers NOW. The FBI must explain what they were doing today and why.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, tweeted: “The raid of MAL is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves. Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”

Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democratic candidate for Governor, released a statement: “In the United States of America, no one is above the law, not even a former President. Governor DeSantis’s knee-jerk partisan response to this law enforcement action proves yet again he is more interested in playing politics than seeking justice or the rule of law. Healing and uniting our state and nation starts with respecting the rule of law. If Ron DeSantis can’t understand that, or refuses to, he’s not qualified to be governor of Florida.”

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democratic candidate for Governor, tweeted: “It bears repeating: Trump never held a fundraiser for me at Mar-a-Lago. And I’m the only candidate for governor of Florida who can say that. (To DeSantis) Your tweet is another escalation of your pathetic loyalty to an insurrectionist over country and the rule of law. Ron DeSantis is defending Donald Trump instead of the rule of law, so I’ll be holding a press conference tomorrow in front of the governor’s mansion to remind Floridians that nobody is above the law.”

Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, spoke to Fox News and said in part: “You would expect there to be subpoenas if there was any suspect of classified information – requesting documents – as has been done in these similar cases, not 30 FBI agents rushing in on a search warrant. It is certainly unusual. And I tell you what, the charges, if there are any the allegations, this better be a rock solid case to wreck whatever respect there is right now for the FBI.”

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, a Republican, tweeted: “This administration has lost its mind. It is corrupt. It is political. They raid a former President, they do nothing about the border or about Hunter. Pure Banana Republic tactics. Only in dictatorship do they use the power of government to eliminate their enemies.”

Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Longboat Key Republican, tweeted: “Political targeting is the hallmark of a Banana Republic, not the United States.  Biden’s Justice Department crossed the line when machine gun-toting agents raided the home of a former President and possible 2024 candidate. House Republicans will exert strong oversight next year.

Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican, released a statement: “The raid on former President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago is unconscionable. The FBI is operating like the wild west by completely upending judicial process and norms in their relentless assault against the former president. Let’s not forget that this is the same FBI that classified parents as domestic terrorists and buried countless sexual assault allegations against serial abuser Larry Nassar by women of the USA’s Olympic team. As an American and elected official, I’m horrified and deeply concerned about the blatant abuse of power by the Biden Department of Justice. I also have so many questions about why the DOJ took such a drastic measure just 91 days before a politically charged midterm election. Today’s unprecedented invasion of former President Trump’s private residence is an assault on our Constitutional Republic and reeks of political retribution.”

Rep. Neal Dunn, a Panama City Republican: “The American people have lost any reason we have to trust the FBI and DOJ. They’ve both been part of the political witch hunts against President Trump in the past and allowed the Biden Administration to weaponize their agencies for strictly political purposes. They need to justify this raid to Congress and the American people to demonstrate that this isn’t just another of their partisan political games. Until that happens, this is a compelling reason for our decaying trust in ‘justice’ from the federal government.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, tweeted: “So interesting that this happens right as we are exposing undeniable criminal corruption by Hunter Biden. Weird. I stand with President Trump!”

Rep. Brian Mast, a Stuart Republican, tweeted: “The same FBI that spent four years leading a political witch hunt against Donald Trump, even going so far as to use documents that were knowingly falsified by the Democrat Party, is now raiding the President’s home. The same FBI that allowed Hillary Clinton to maintain a private server and delete over 30,000 emails without ever facing prosecution, is now raiding the President’s home. The same FBI that has turned a blind eye to Hunter Biden’s laptops and shady overseas dealings, is now raiding the President’s home.”

Rep. John Rutherford, a Jacksonville Republican, tweeted: “Director (Christopher) Wray says the FBI have limited resources and this is how they choose to use those limited resources? He claims to use ‘prosecutorial discretion’ to turn a blind eye to the (Chinese Communist Party), their elite capture at the highest levels of our government and to Hunter Biden’s laptop. I want to see an immediate release of the search warrant and the ‘probably cause’ used to obtain it. Release it Director Wray, NOW.”

Rep. Darren Soto, a Kissimmee Democrat, tweeted: “Former President Trump is alleged to have unlawfully taken boxes of classified documents down to Mar-a-Lago. This has been reported on for months. He’s finally being held accountable for his actions. Apparently a few of my colleagues are surprised by this.”

Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, tweeted: “Even before Trump was president, the FBI and DOJ spied on the Trump campaign, abused a secret FISA court, and claimed ‘Russian collusion.’ Now this! Attorney General Merrick Garland says he is not a political operative for the Left? The U.S. has become a totalitarian state run by Deep state, woke, radical Democrats who are hell bent on destroying our country. You want to take Trump down? All this will do is bring more people to his cause.”

Rep. Michael Waltz, a St. Augustine Beach Republican, tweeted: “If true, this move will further damage public confidence in the DOJ to conduct fair and non-political investigations…terrible for the future of America!”

Rep. Daniel Webster, a Clermont Republican, tweeted: “News of FBI raid on MAL is troubling. The FBI’s track record for following the rules and avoiding politics when it comes to President Trump isn’t good and now this. And this is same DOJ that didn’t have time to hold accountable those clearly violating federal law outside SCOTUS homes.”