“I still think transparency was and is critical. I wasn’t one of those people who was just reacting, I was just standing up for Donald Trump,” Hogan told ABC’s “This Week” co-host Jonathan Carl of the FBI operation in the office of former president. residence in Florida. “But I understood that, without anyone understanding what it was about, that it was going to and could lead to even more division and angry rhetoric on both sides.” “And so, I was happy that they did come out and unseal the investigation documents,” Hogan said. “I think it was a step in the right direction. But I think we still have a lot of unanswered questions and we will continue until people understand more.” Hogan told Carl he was concerned after classified and other highly sensitive materials were recovered at Mar-a-Lago, according to a redacted copy of the warrant and related documents released in court Friday. Sources previously told ABC News that the investigation involved documents Trump took with him when he left Washington, including some files that the National Archives said were classified as classified. Through a spokesman, Trump claimed the records were declassified. He said the investigation is politically motivated. “I think that’s what we need to find out more about: What are the documents really and what are the implications from a national security perspective?” Hogan said Sunday. “One side, you can say, ‘well, the Justice Department, the FBI and the federal judge thought they should do it, then it must be pretty serious.’ On the other hand, in the absence of more transparency, people will continue to jump to conclusions.” Hogan, a staunch insider critic of Trump, also warned that fellow Republicans were exacerbating tensions over the ongoing investigation after some lawmakers such as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green called for “defunding the FBI, dismantling the Justice Department and elimination of political bias services and prosecutions’. Those comments continued after a man attacked an FBI office in Ohio following the investigation. “It’s outrageous rhetoric,” Hogan said. “My father, my uncle, two of my cousins were FBI agents and I work with them [agents] on an ongoing basis, the state police work with them every day. These are dedicated law enforcement officers.” Karl cited a photo of some House Republicans who visited Trump after last week’s investigation, rallying around him. “I’m not sure history will remember them all fondly,” Hogan said. “Look, I think no man is above the law, but everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “So we just have to see where this research leads.” Hogan has been coy about his own presidential aspirations, rumors fueled by his recent trips to key states and his repeated calls for an anti-Trump future for the Republican party. “I’m trying to do everything I can to get my party back on track,” he said, “because I want to win elections rather than lose elections.”
