Chuck Grassley demands FBI explain Trump raid

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Tuesday demanded that the Biden administration explain the Monday evening raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

Issuing a statement immediately after meeting with Wray, the Iowa senator warned the the FBI must be "extraordinarily transparent" in its handling of the investigation or risk losing what little it still possesses of the public trust.

"Last night’s raid on the home of a former U.S. president without explanation will only further erode confidence in the FBI and the Justice Department [emphasis original]" Grassley said.

"If the FBI isn’t extraordinarily transparent about its justification for yesterday’s actions and committed to rooting out political bias that has infected their most sensitive investigations, they will have sealed their own fate," he continued. "The FBI’s mission and the many patriotic agents who work hard to carry it out will be forever overshadowed by the distrust the bureau has sown."

“The Justice Department as a whole bears responsibility in upholding the public trust, and in a matter so consequential to our democratic process, Attorney General Garland also owes the American people full transparency,” Grassley warned.

FBI agents from the Washington Field Office on Monday evening raided Trump's Florida estate and broke into his vault seeking classified documents the former president may have taken from the White House, sources briefed on the investigation told Just the News.

Earlier this month, Grassley highlighted whistleblower claims against Washington Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault for allegedly showing partisan bias in handling of investigations. Thibault concealed the partisan nature of evidence against Trump to convince his superiors to approve an investigation, they claim. He also allegedly worked to falsely discredit evidence against Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son.

"If these allegations are true and accurate, the Justice Department and FBI are – and have been – substantially corrupted," Grassley lamented at the time.

In early August, the Iowa senator confirmed to Just the News that the FBI had transferred Thibault into an unspecified posting.