Former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin said Wednesday he would “push for an investigation” into the FBI’s raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home if he is elected to the seat he used to hold in November, echoing GOP House members’ comments on the search.
“If the voters of Maine send me back to Congress, I will push for an investigation into what is really happening here,” Poliquin said in a statement his campaign released Wednesday morning. “We clearly need change in Washington.”
He also called the raid “shocking,” saying that more answers were needed from President Joe Biden, FBI Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The raid is believed to be linked to an investigation of classified documents Trump took with him after leaving the oval office, though none of those major players have spoken publicly about it yet.
Many Maine Republicans on the ballot this November have distanced themselves from the former president. Poliquin himself declined to say last week whether he would support Trump if he chose to run in 2024, though he tied himself to the former president by noting that Trump had appointed him to a federal board in 2019.
Poliquin’s statement about the raid noted that Trump was a political rival to Biden, highlighting that as further evidence the search was inappropriate. The former Republican president has long said he is interested in trying to take back the office in 2024. Such an announcement could occur before the midterm elections in November, with some allies calling on him to speed it up after the Monday raid.
Many on the right had harsh criticism of the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, with Poliquin’s statement closely echoing that of Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said Monday night on Twitter that House Republicans would investigate the Justice Department on the matter “when” they take control of the U.S. House.
McCarthy would become speaker of the House if Republicans gain a majority in the upcoming midterm elections.
Poliquin’s chief opponent, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday morning. Independent Tiffany Bond tweeted derisively about McCarthy’s statement shortly after it was posted Monday night.
