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WASHINGTON \u2014 As Republicans continued on Sunday to defend former President Donald J. Trump after an unprecedented F.B.I. search of his residence in Florida, deep fissures were visible in the party\u2019s support for law enforcement amid a federal investigation into Mr. Trump\u2019s handling of top secret documents.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the search, congressional Republicans, including members of leadership, reacted with fury<\/a>, attacking the nation\u2019s top law enforcement agencies. Some called to \u201cdefund\u201d or \u201cdestroy\u201d the F.B.I.<\/a>, and others invoked the Nazi secret police, using words like \u201cgestapo<\/a>\u201d and \u201ctyrants<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n On Sunday, more moderate voices in the party chastised their colleagues for the broadsides against law enforcement, making a more restrained case for defending Mr. Trump while also carrying out oversight of the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Many Republicans called for the release of the affidavit<\/a> supporting the search warrant that was executed last Monday, which would detail the evidence that had persuaded a judge there was probable cause to believe a search would find evidence of crimes. Such documents are typically not made public before charges are filed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt was an unprecedented action that needs to be supported by unprecedented justification,\u201d Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania and a former F.B.I. agent, said on CBS\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d But he added, \u201cI have urged all my colleagues to make sure they understand the weight of their words.\u201d<\/p>\n The calls for a more cautious tone came as threats emerged against law enforcement. A gunman on Thursday attacked an F.B.I. office in Cincinnati<\/a>, and on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security distributed an intelligence bulletin<\/a> to law enforcement around the country that warned of \u201can increase in threats and acts of violence, including armed encounters, against law enforcement, judiciary and government personnel\u201d after the search.<\/p>\n \u201cThe F.B.I. and D.H.S. have observed an increase in violent threats posted on social media against federal officials and facilities, including a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of F.B.I. headquarters and issuing general calls for \u2018civil war\u2019 and \u2018armed rebellion,\u2019\u201d said the bulletin, which was obtained by The New York Times.<\/p>\n Adding to the sense of alarm, another gunman crashed a car into a barricade outside the Capitol<\/a> around 4 a.m. on Sunday. After he exited the car and it became engulfed in flames, he shot into the air several times before killing himself, the Capitol Police said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Fitzpatrick said he had begun checking in with his former colleagues at the F.B.I. \u201cto make sure they were OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe\u2019re the world\u2019s oldest democracy, and the only way that can come unraveled is if we have disrespect for institutions that lead to Americans turning on Americans,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cA lot of that starts with the words we\u2019re using.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans have struggled to coalesce around a unified strategy to respond to the F.B.I.\u2019s search of Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump\u2019s home in Palm Beach, Fla., amid daily revelations and quickly shifting explanations<\/a>, excuses, defenses and false accusations by the former president.<\/p>\n On Friday, a federal judge unsealed the warrant authorizing the search and an inventory of items removed from the property by federal agents. The list showed that the F.B.I. had retrieved 11 sets of classified documents as part of an inquiry into potential violations<\/a> of the Espionage Act and two other laws.<\/p>\n Some of the documents were marked \u201cclassified\/TS\/SCI\u201d \u2014 shorthand for \u201ctop secret\/sensitive compartmented information.\u201d Such information is meant to be viewed only in a secure government facility. <\/p>\n Mr. Trump and his allies have argued that former President Barack Obama also mishandled documents (an allegation quickly dismissed as false by the National Archives); that the judge who signed the warrant authorizing the search must have been biased; that the F.B.I. might have planted evidence; that the documents were covered by attorney-client or executive privilege; and that Mr. Trump had declassified the documents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The former president has worked to cash in on the search.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s political action committee has been furiously fund-raising off the F.B.I. search, sending out at least 17 text messages to donors since Tuesday. \u201cThe Dems broke into the home of Pres. Trump,\u201d one read. \u201cThis is POLITICAL TARGETING!\u201d another alleged. \u201cTHEY\u2019RE COMING AFTER YOU!\u201d a third said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Donald Trump Jr., the former president\u2019s son, wrote another fund-raising email on Sunday: \u201cThe witch hunt continues\u2026The FBI\u2019s raid of Mar-a-Lago was a DISGRACE. In fact, it\u2019s UNFATHOMABLE.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, also called for the repeal of the Espionage Act<\/a>, one of the statutes that prompted the investigation.<\/p>\n But the shifting explanations have made it difficult for Republicans, many of whom are eager to please the former president, to come together with a unified defense. They are divided about whether to attack the nation\u2019s top law enforcement agencies and how aggressive to be in those attacks.<\/p>\n Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican whom the National Republican Congressional Committee is featuring in fund-raising appeals, has begun selling merchandise that says \u201cDefund the F.B.I.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That is a much different approach from Representative Michael R. Turner of Ohio, the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, who defended Mr. Trump on Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Republicans on the committee have said they continue to support law enforcement. Still, they said that tough questions remained for Attorney General Merrick B. Garland about his decision to take the bold step of ordering a search of the former president\u2019s home, and they promised to hold the Justice Department accountable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cClearly, no one is above the law,\u201d Mr. Turner said on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d \u201cDonald Trump is not above the law. And Attorney General Garland is not above the law, either. And Congress has the powers of oversight. He needs to comply.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Turner said he had not been convinced \u201cwhether or not this actually is classified material and whether or not it rises to the level of the highest classified material,\u201d despite the documents released by the court.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be very surprised if he has actual documents that rise to the level of an immediate national security threat,\u201d Mr. Turner said.<\/p>\n Two of the laws referred to in the search warrant<\/a>, however, make the taking or concealment of government records a crime regardless of whether they are related to national security. The third, which bars the unauthorized retention of material with restricted national security information, applies whether or not the material is classified<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Republican leaders in the Senate and the House, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, have also said that Mr. Garland needs to provide answers.<\/p>\nMore Coverage of the F.B.I. Search of Trump\u2019s Home<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n