DelVal Reactions To Raid On Former President Trump's Home

By Linda Stein, Delaware Valley Journal

August 9, 2022

The Biden administration’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home may have been unprecedented, but the reaction in the Delaware Valley predictably fell along party lines.

“I’m very concerned about the direction of our country and the politicization of our justice system,” Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Doug Mastriano told Newsmax. “I just pray to God that things turn around because we’re seeing the justice system being used as a hammer to batter political opponents.

“Hillary Clinton destroyed several devices, 30-some-thousand emails, and there was no accountability,” Mastriano added. “Meanwhile, with political opponents, we’re seeing Donald Trump and many Republicans being hammered.”

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democrat running for governor, declined to comment.

FBI agents descended on Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home on Monday for an extensive, day-long search. According to media reports, the FBI was operating under a warrant related to documents Trump took from the White House that are now being sought by the National Archives.

Moderate Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) pledged to review the Department of Justice’s actions.

“As the only FBI agent in Congress, I’ve been getting many inquiries regarding tonight’s reported enforcement action at Mar-a-Lago. I will get to the bottom of this, will follow the facts wherever they lead, and will report with unimpeachable integrity. I will get to the truth,” Fitzpatrick said on Twitter.

Ashley Ehasz, Fitzpatrick’s Democratic challenger, said, “So now, all of a sudden, he (Fitzpatrick) wants to ‘get to the truth,’ after he voted against the Jan. 6th Committee and voted against impeaching Trump twice? As a combat veteran, I was deeply disturbed by Trump’s narrative that the election was ‘stolen.’ But this former FBI agent helped cast doubt on the election results by sending a letter to the governor alleging election fraud when it was clear the results were sound.”

Also on Twitter, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, said, “America is bitterly divided, & what Pres. Biden’s FBI and DOJ did last night will only make things worse. Americans have every right to be upset & demand answers on why this raid happened in the most aggressive action taken against a former president ever in our nation’s history.”

Guy Ciarrocchi, the Republican challenging incumbent Delaware Valley Democrat U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan said, “Tragically, once again, our trust in our institutions—in our own government—has been broken. Right before our eyes. From the FBI to the CDC, from the Department of Energy to school boards, far too many Americans feel as though we are being misled, ignored, or—worse yet—used as political pawns.

“This is a critical moment when leaders need to recognize that trust has been broken. And for the sake of our nation, it must be restored. Our nation depends on a sacred trust that ours is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Ciarrocchi said.

Christian Nascimento, the Republican running against Democrat U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean in Montgomery County said, “No one is above the law. Let’s see how this all plays out, but I just hope that there is an actual need for this, and it’s not a partisan exercise, which will further divide the country.”

Michael Caputo, who served in the Trump administration, says the Biden administration has sparked a “full-blown constitutional crisis.”

“The American people have endured a slow, creeping attack on our nation. I had a front-row seat in the Russia hoax, and I’ve watched it get steadily and methodically worse ever since. With this militant raid on President Trump’s home, we have become Russia. The FBI is the KGB. I should know. I’ve seen them both in action and I see no difference at all.

“With all the disagreements over presidential documents across almost every single presidency in history, there was never a military-style raid on a former president’s home. Today Joe Biden just guaranteed he will be indicted in 2025. And his son. And his brother.”

Michael Domanico, owner of the Trump Store in Bensalem, said the raid was the result of partisan politics.

“I think it’s all about the Democrats being afraid that Trump is going to beat them. The whole country is a mess right now. They’re trying to make it so that he can’t run,” he said.

“And the 50 people who came into my store today agreed,” he added.

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