Republican politicians in Florida question the integrity of the FBI-led investigation into the Trump assassination

Prominent Florida Republican politicians have expressed doubts about the FBI’s ability to fairly investigate the shooting of former President Donald Trump on Saturday.

The remarks come after Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed his distrust of X on Sunday, calling the shooting a “bureaucratic failure.” He suggested the FBI was less trustworthy because of the way it classified a politically charged 2017 shooting in which six people were shot.

Republican U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack of Gainesville echoed DeSantis’ sentiments and called for greater oversight of the FBI investigation, saying the Mar-a-Lago raid and the botched investigation of its classified documents were examples of recent failures that have weakened the FBI’s authority.

“I have enormous doubts about their ability to conduct a serious and effective investigation,” she said.

Last year, as the Trump case continued, FBI Director Chris Wray defended the agency’s objectivity before Congress, saying the FBI had no interest in protecting any political group.

Still, Congressman Byron Donalds of Southwest Florida said there are “real concerns” about the way FBI leadership has conducted its investigations for more than a decade.

Michael Thompson, chairman of the Lee County Republican Party, said he was extremely skeptical of the FBI’s investigation. He said the Justice Department’s indictment of Trump proves the organization has a vendetta against the former president, and that’s why Thompson said he doesn’t trust the FBI’s investigation.

“They’re part of the secret network,” Thompson said, “so we don’t give them much respect anymore. Respect has to be earned.”

Florida Republican Party committeeman Peter Feaman shared DeSantis’ concerns and said the House Oversight Committee must monitor the FBI’s investigation into Saturday’s shooting.

“This was such a blatant failure,” he said, “I think the leadership of the Secret Service and the FBI needs to be closely examined.”

On Monday, the Senate Homeland Security Committee announced it would launch an investigation into Saturday’s security breaches. On Sunday, President Biden announced he would conduct an independent national security investigation into Saturday’s rally.

In recent months, the integrity of the FBI has become a partisan talking point. When Ron DeSantis announced his candidacy for the office in May 2023, he promised to fire the FBI director on his first day in office, saying the agency had become a “weapon” against Americans who think like him. His comments on Sunday seemed reminiscent of his anti-FBI campaign rhetoric.

“Biden tells us to trust the bureaucracy to investigate the shooter’s motive,” DeSantis tweeted. “But federal authorities labeled the crazy left-wing shooter at the baseball convention a ‘suicide by cop’ – even though the shooter had a well-documented left-wing political leaning.”