- Liz Cheney slammed fellow Republicans for their criticism of FBI agents involved in the Mar-a-Lago raid.
- Trump and some GOP lawmakers have claimed agents could have planted evidence.
- "These are sickening comments that put the lives of patriotic public servants at risk," Cheney wrote.
Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday blasted her fellow Republicans for putting "the lives of patriotic public servants" at risk following the immense criticism of the FBI after agents raided former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.
"I have been ashamed to hear members of my party attacking the integrity of the FBI agents involved with the recent Mar-a-Lago search," Cheney wrote on Twitter. "These are sickening comments that put the lives of patriotic public servants at risk."
Cheney did not name specific Republicans that she was calling out. This marks her first major comments since the FBI's search of Trump's property earlier this week. Agents were reportedly investigating whether Trump still had classified material that should have been turned over to the National Archives.
There are many Republicans who went beyond pushing for more information about the FBI's unprecedented action. Trump and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky even suggested that agents might have planted evidence to entrap Trump, which would be a blatant crime. The former president and others also compared the search to "third-world" dictatorships. Some on the right went so far as to claim that the nation's top law enforcement agency was now akin to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police that help carry out the horrors of the Holocaust.
As the top Republican on the House January 6 committee, Cheney has repeatedly gone after fellow Republicans for not taking the January 6 insurrection seriously. She has also refused to back down from her criticism of Trump even though it led to her ouster from House GOP leadership. Cheney faces a difficult fight to hold onto her Wyoming seat next week against a Trump-backed opponent.
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a strong defense of his department and the FBI in the wake of the criticism.
"I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked," Garland told reporters Thursday. "The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated, patriotic public servants."
