Pence says Trump raid by FBI raises concern, presses Garland

Former Vice President Mike Pence expressed “deep concern” Tuesday about the FBI’s search of ex-President Donald Trump‘s resort home Mar-a-Lago, calling it “unprecedented” and pressing the Department of Justice to explain the shocking move.

“No former President of the United States has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history,” Pence said in a trio of tweets.

Pence’s statement came a day after Trump announced that a “large group of FBI agents” conducted an unannounced “raid” at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort, which has been Trump’s official residence since he left the White House.

“They even broke into my safe!” said Trump, who was in New York City on Monday when the FBI searched his home.

The search was related to a Justice Department probe into whether laws were broken when 15 boxes of White House records — which included some documents marked as classified — ended up at Mar-a-Lago instead of the National Archives, NBC News and other outlets reported.

To obtain a search warrant, federal investigators must show a judge that there is probable cause to believe a crime has been committed and that there may be evidence related to that crime in the location they are targeting.

There are multiple active investigations at the state and federal level related to Trump, his business and his family. In addition to the probe of records at Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department is reportedly investigating events leading to the Capitol riot.

A federal grand jury has also been impaneled in Georgia as part of a probe into efforts by Trump and others to meddle in that state’s election in 2020. The New York attorney general’s office is also conducting a civil probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices.

Pence’s tweets echoed complaints from other Republicans who claim the Justice Department and Biden-appointed Attorney General Merrick Garland are unjustly targeting Trump and his political allies.

“After years where FBI agents were found to be acting on political motivation during our administration, the appearance of continued partisanship by the Justice Department must be addressed,” Pence wrote.

“Yesterday’s action undermines public confidence in our system of justice and Attorney General Garland must give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately,” Pence tweeted.

The statement marked a rare public reference to Trump by his former vice president. Trump and his supporters have castigated Pence since he resisted the ex-president’s calls for him to challenge President Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 election.

Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, rejected a dubious legal theory pushed by Trump…