Rep. Fitzpatrick, GOP: FBI Raid Unprecedented Act’ Requires Unprecedented Justification

Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home is an “unprecedented action that needs to be supported by unprecedented justification.”

Partial transcript as follows:

MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. He is a former FBI agent, federal prosecutor, and joins us live from Philadelphia. Good morning Congressman. As a former agent I am curious if you have seen this warrant. We all have. Is there any indication that this warrant might indicate the existence of a crime?

FITZPATRICK : Thanks for taking the time to meet me. Margaret, this was an extraordinary action and should be supported with unprecedented reasons. Part A was a unique action. We know this. It has not happened in the country’s past. Was there an unprecedented reason? This is a question that remains open, but we have the answers. That document, which remains sealed is the affidavit to probable cause. Because we do not have this information, I encourage my fellow left-leaning colleagues to use their judgment. We don’t even know the contents of that document. You’ll be able to find answers to many questions. On Friday, we held a press conference with our intelligence committee members. I then telegraphed the news to the media. After that, I said that the documents you will see today unsealed, which were the affidavit, writer to warrant and property receipt, weren’t going to shed much light beyond what was being investigated by the statutes.

BRENNAN: But you voted for a bill in 2018 that made it a felony to possess documents or materials containing classified information. The same bill was signed into law by President Trump. Was he able to break the law?

FITZPATRICK : That’s the conclusion we reached. Nobody is asserting .-

, and no one should.

BRENNAN -The receipt states that the recipient had top-secret and classified information stored in Mar-a-Lago boxes.

FITZPATRICK: – Right. Yes, it is. Nobody claims that it is okay to possess a SCIF, and I certainly don’t believe so. Given my experience and current assignment as a committee member, I understand this better than anyone. However, the issue is that some of the information being reported by the administration has been disputed. The affidavit can answer this question. This will allow us to identify the source of misinformation. Does it belong to the–the admi–the prior administration, or the current administration. We need that to be clarified.

BRENNAN – As you may know, news agencies are trying to obtain that affidavit. These are not normally made public during active investigations. It is appropriate to release them now, during an active investigation.

FITZPATRICK After all, we have control over the whole intelligence apparatus. That’s why it’s so puzzling for us: Margaret, Mike Turner (fantastic member of Congress from Ohio), who takes a more measured approach. The dynamics are clear. The truth is what we want. The objective truth. This is objective truth.

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