"Earlier this week, we requested that they disclose to our committee the national security basis upon which they have ordered this raid," Turner told a press conference. "Because many other options were available to them, we’re very concerned about the method that was used in raiding Mar-a-Lago and the nine hours that transpired while they were in the former president’s home."
While Turner noted that Attorney General Merrick Garland was looking to release the warrant and inventory from the raid, he insisted that many questions would still remain. He added that he and his colleagues were also requesting the committee chair to back up their request with a subpoena if the attorney general and FBI director refused to comply with it.
Turner also said he would send a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday seeking information about an alleged informant placed at Mar-a-Lago.
Turner was joined at the podium by several House Republicans who repeatedly condemned what they saw as the weaponization and politicization of the Department of Justice and FBI, calling for transparency and accountability. Rep. Elise Stefanik accused President Joe Biden of using the agencies to attack Trump because he would be his most likely opponent in the 2024 election. She called the raid a "complete abuse and overreach of FBI authority."
The intention of the FBI's raid on Trump’s Florida resort on Monday was reportedly to recover classified nuclear weapons documents that the former president illegally removed from the White House. Trump has denied the allegations.