'Banana Republic': DeSantis slams FBI raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago home

AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the FBI’s Monday night raid on Mar-a-Lago, the residence of former President Donald Trump. In a blistering statement on social media, DeSantis said the Biden administration had transformed America into a “Banana Republic.” 

According to FBI officials who spoke to the New York Times, the search warrant was executed on Trump’s residence over classified material Trump allegedly brought with him to Mar-a-Lago upon his exit from the White House. 

The publication reported that Trump delayed returning more than a dozen boxes of material to the National Archives including documents “marked as classified national security information.”

The raid on Trump’s residence is unprecedented, even in comparison to the rollercoaster ride of the Trump administration’s years in office.

“The raid of [Mar-a-Lago] 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 wrote on Twitter. “Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.” 

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.

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) August 9, 2022

Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota described the raid as an “unprecedented political weaponization of the justice system,” adding that, “using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American.”

The FBI raid on President Trump’s home is an unprecedented political weaponization of the Justice Department. They’ve been after President Trump as a candidate, as President, and now as a former President. Using the criminal justice system in this manner is un-American.

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) August 9, 2022

In May, federal prosecutors opened a grand jury investigation into Trump over whether he mishandled classified material that ended up in his Mar-a-Lago home. 

Typically the purpose of these types of investigations is for the feds to determine if any classified material was compromised to allow intelligence officials to take steps to protect sensitive sources and methods.

Prosecutors are currently seeking to learn how the documents were handled from the time they left the White House until they were returned to the National Archives.

For Trump to be charged with a crime, prosecutors must be able to prove that a crime was committed, with evidence showing those responsible for removing the documents from the White House were aware that the documents were classified and knew that removing them would break the law.