Rebuke for Republicans making ‘dangerous’ FBI claims

Vocal supporters of the former president are warned against ‘jumping to conclusions’ and sowing distrust of the law

- Oliver Laughland

A handful of Republican governors have critici sed the “outrageous rhetoric” of their party colleagues in the US Congress, who accused federal law enforcement officers of a politici sed attack on former president Donald Trump after a court-approved search of his Florida home last week.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan, a Republican moderate, described attacks by party members as “absurd” and “dangerous”, after a week in which certain Republicans compared the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the Gestapo and fundraised offthe slogan “ Defund the FBI ”.

Speaking to ABC News last Sunday, Hogan described the comparisons of the FBI to Nazi Germany’s secret police, which had been made by Florida senator Rick Scott, as very concerning . “It’s outrageous rhetoric,” he said, adding: “It’s absurd and, you know, it’s dangerous .” (A reference to the death of an armed man enraged by the raid who was killed in Ohio when he tried to invade an FBI office.)

“There are threats all over the place and losing faith in our federal law enforcement officers and our justice system is a really serious problem for the country ,” Hogan said.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at the former president’s private members club and residence in south Florida last Monday with an unsealed warrant later revealing that Trump is under investigation for potential violation of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.