Chris Christie Calls Feds’ Trump Estate Search ‘Fair Game’

NEW JERSEY - Former Garden State Gov. Chris Christie came to the defense of the U.S. Department of Justice in a radio interview Tuesday – a discordant move from the majority of the Republican party – saying the search of former President Donald Trump’s safe is “fair game.”

While the former federal prosecutor and longtime friend to Trump called the FBI search on Monday “unprecedented,” he added that officials should release more information about the investigation “sooner than later” and the public “really don’t know what we don’t know.”

“We don’t know what the basis of [the search] is, we hear speculation about it, presidential records, et cetera, we don’t know if that’s all of it, or whether there’s more to it,” Christie told SiriusXM’s Julie Mason. “A federal judge has to sign off on [a search warrant] as well, and I’ve got to believe that a federal judge would take special care in reviewing something like this before they authorize the search of a former president’s home.”

“It’s fair game,” Christie continued. “You have to display probable cause to a federal judge ... that you have reason to believe that there are contents within that safe that would assist in proving a violation of the law, so it’s not anything that’s out of bounds to go into a safe and it happens frequently in federal law enforcement.”

The move comes in stark contrast with other key GOP players and Trump allies. Republicans in Washington called the search "politically motivated" and a Democratic-driven effort to keep Trump from winning another term in 2024. Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy vowed retribution against the Justice Department, claiming he will investigate the agency if the GOP takes back the House of Representatives in November.

"The Justice Department has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization," McCarthy said in a statement.

The investigation has also notably drawn the ire of Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who called the search “outrageous.”

Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, considered to be a 2024 GOP presidential hopeful, said that the raid on Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home was “an escalation in the weaponization” of federal agencies.

"This should scare every American," Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who leads the campaign committee of Senate Republicans, said on Fox Business. "Until we get answers, you should have unbelievable concern."

Trump confirmed the "unannounced raid" that he likened to "prosecutorial misconduct" in a lengthy statement Monday.

"My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents," Trump said in the statement released through his political action committee Save America.

"They even broke into my safe!" he continued. "What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democrat National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States."

On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the search shows no one is above the law.

"We believe in the rule of law. That's what our country is about," Pelosi said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show. "And no person is above the law. Not even the president of the United States. Not even a former president of the United States."

With reporting by Megan VerHelst and the Associated Press.