WASHINGTON – Donald Trump will huddle with a group of House Republicans on Tuesday, a day after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of an investigation into the handling of classified material.
Trump will dine with a dozen members of the House Republican Study Committee at his summer home in Bedminster, New Jersey., said an official familiar with the plans.
The dinner has been in the works for weeks, but Trump is expected to discuss the various investigations of him, the official said.
The Republican Study Committee describes itself as “the conservative caucus of House Republicans,” and says it has been “a leading influencer on the Right since its original founding in 1973.” Its membership includes most of the 212 Republican members of the House.
The search:Trump Mar-a-Lago home in Florida searched by FBI in probe into handling of classified documents
The background:What’s happening at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home? Was the FBI there? Answers to your questions
The FBI search of Mar-a-Lago – an unprecedented law enforcement action involving a former president – was part of an investigation of Trump’s handling of classified information as he left office in 2021. Trump took documents to Florida that should have been preserved for the National Archives, officials said.
Under the law, any search would need to be authorized by a federal judge after finding probable cause that a crime had been committed and that evidence of the crime exists in the location to be searched.
Under the chairmanship of Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the RSC has been a major supporter of Trump.
While planning the meeting with Trump last month, Banks told Breitbart News that his committee “has visited with him many times before. We have a very close relationship with him, and the Republican Study Committee believes he’s the most effective president in a lifetime or more.”
The truth?: A lot can still go wrong, but FBI search on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago was cathartic
‘Defund the FBI’: Trump supporters react to Mar-a-Lago search
Echoing Trump on Monday, Banks condemned the FBI raid by tweeting: “Democrats will do anything and everything they can to prevent Donald Trump’s name from ever being on the ballot again. No one has ever exposed their corruption more than he has.”
House Democrats defended the FBI search.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who is investigating Trump’s use of classified documents in her role as chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said “presidents have a solemn duty to protect America’s national security.”
She added: “Allegations that former President Trump put our security at risk by mishandling classified information warrant the utmost scrutiny.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to meet with Republicans following FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
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