Republican representatives call for Garland, Wray to appear before House Judiciary

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other House Republicans on Friday called for Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to discuss the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago.

McCarthy was joined by Reps. Mike Turner, Jim Jordan and James Comer — who serve as the leading Republicans on the House Intelligence, Judiciary and Oversight committees, respectievely — in calling for public hearings and the release of documents related to the search.

“In these extraordinary circumstances, the DOJ is proceeding in a manner that is eroding public trust and confidence,” McCarthy said in a letter to Garland.

McCarthy accused Garland and the Justice Department of being insincere in their public claims that the department would speak through “its court filings and its work” and release information in an “appropriate” manner. 

Instead, the House minority leader suggested that the Justice Department was leaking information to the media to “create a one-sided narrative.”

“The appropriate time is now, and the appropriate way is to publicly appear before and answer important questions to the congressional committees of jurisdiction that oversee your department,” McCarthy said.

The group of House Republicans also requested that Garland and Wray turn over materials related to the search “immediately without redactions or withholdings.” While several documents have been unsealed in the litigation that has followed the raid, many contained redactions.

The FBI carried out a search warrant at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8, recovering more than 100 classified documents. Agents conducted the search after evidence suggested that Trump had “likely concealed and removed” documents in the face of a grand jury subpoena.