Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidates called out Gov. Ron DeSantis for comments he made after an unprecedented FBI raid Monday at the Palm Beach home of former President Donald Trump.
During a news conference Tuesday morning outside the governor鈥檚 mansion, Democratic candidate Nikki Fried said both political parties should tone down inflammatory rhetoric about the raid at Trump鈥檚 Mar-a-Lago estate and that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice should be allowed to conduct their investigation.
鈥淲e are all waiting for lots of answers from yesterday, and we all deserve them,鈥� Fried, the state agriculture commissioner, said. 鈥淏ut we need steady leadership who uphold the American values, including the rule of law and civil discourse.鈥�
Read more: Mystery at Mar-a-Lago: What were FBI agents looking for and what are the consequences?
The search was reportedly tied to Trump鈥檚 retention of classified material amid investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. It came as speculation swirls about Trump and DeSantis running for the White House in 2024.
DeSantis went on Twitter after Monday鈥檚 raid and said President Joe Biden鈥檚 White House had 鈥渨eaponized鈥� federal agencies.
鈥淭he raid of MAL (Mar-a-Lago) is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime鈥檚 political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves,鈥� DeSantis tweeted, referring to the president鈥檚 son. 鈥淣ow the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.鈥�
A Biden-backed bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes funding for 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, a congressman from St. Petersburg, issued a statement Monday night saying that 鈥渘o one is above the law, not even a former president.鈥�
Yesterday鈥檚 search of Mar-A-Lago reinforced a fundamental pillar of American democracy 鈥� no one is above the law, not even the former president. I have great faith in our law enforcement to conduct a fair & thorough investigation to get to the truth, no matter where it may lead.
— Congressman Charlie Crist (@RepCharlieCrist)
鈥淕ov. DeSantis鈥檚 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,鈥� Crist said in the statement.
鈥淗ealing and uniting our state and nation starts with respecting the rule of law. If Ron DeSantis can鈥檛 understand that, or refuses to, he鈥檚 not qualified to be governor of Florida.鈥�
But DeSantis was joined by other Florida Republicans in condemning the raid.
In a Twitter post, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., compared the raid to 鈥渟omething we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships.鈥�
The FBI raid was unprecedented for America,but familiar to those in Florida who fled nations where political opposition was criminalized
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)
If voters put us back in the majority we better have the guts to subpoena the records & make those who authorized this testify under oath
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Tuesday tweeted that when Republicans have a majority in the Senate, there will be 鈥渢horough & aggressive investigation into the FBI鈥檚 raid of Mar-a-Lago.鈥�
鈥淓verything needs to be on the table for (U.S. Attorney General Merrick) Garland, including impeachment, if he doesn't come out today and explain what happened,鈥� tweeted Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is leading efforts to elect GOP Senate candidates.
But Fried criticized DeSantis, as he and many other Republicans have kept quiet about the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
鈥淗e (DeSantis) won't condemn January 6. But he has no problem attacking the FBI,鈥� Fried said. 鈥淎n FBI that is run by a director that was appointed by Donald Trump. Attacking our institutions and making threats about revenge if they gain power is un-American. We should always seek truth and justice.鈥�
