Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday pushed back against those in his party who called for “defunding the FBI” following the bureau’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence last week. Pence, appearing at a Politics & Eggs breakfast in New Hampshire, said he was “deeply troubled” that a search warrant had been issued and called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to provide more information about its rationale. The Justice Department filed a motion to unseal the search warrant, which was released last Friday. But Pence said the attacks on the FBI are unjustified. “I also want to remind my fellow Republicans that we can hold the attorney general accountable for the decision he made without attacking law enforcement personnel at the FBI,” Pence said, arguing that “the Republican Party is the party. of law and order”. “These attacks on the FBI must stop,” Pence said to applause. “Calls for paybacks from the FBI are just as wrong as calls for paybacks from the police.” Shortly after Pence’s comments, Trump posted an American Spectator article on Truth Social, his social media network, titled “The Fascist Bureau of Investigation.” Geoffrey Lord’s piece argued that “a once venerable organization” had been corrupted. “The FBI has become the Fascist Bureau of Investigation, a government agency weaponized against American citizens it doesn’t like,” Lord wrote. The court-authorized search produced several classified documents that Trump had moved from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Since the investigation, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) have led the call to “defund the FBI,” with Greene pushing T-shirts with the phrase. Last Thursday, a gunman wearing body armor tried to break into the FBI’s Cincinnati field office, sparking an hours-long standoff that ended when he was fatally shot after firing on officers, authorities said. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who was nominated by Trump and confirmed by all Senate Republicans in 2017, said in a statement Friday that the attacks on the FBI “are a serious letdown for the men and women who sacrifice so much much to protect others.” “Violence and threats against law enforcement, including the FBI, are dangerous and should be deeply troubling to all Americans,” he said. Speaking on August 17 at the College of St. Anselm in Manchester, NH, former Vice President Mike Pence said he would “consider” testifying before the House Select Committee. (Video: Reuters) The FBI searched Trump’s home for nuclear documents and other items, sources say During a question-and-answer session, Pence was asked if he would testify before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. “If there was an invitation to participate, I would consider it,” Pence said. “But you heard me mention the Constitution a few times this morning. Under the Constitution, we have three equal branches of government. Any invitation would be directed at me, I would have to think about the unique role I was serving as vice president at the time.” Pence said it would be “unprecedented in history for a vice president to be called to testify on Capitol Hill.” “But I don’t want to prejudge,” he said. “Therefore, if there was any official invitation to us, it would receive due attention.” In July, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told the Wall Street Journal that the committee is considering asking Trump to testify and may request a written interview with Pence or issue a subpoena to testify. The commission declined to comment Wednesday.
