“Whatever we can do to help — because the temperature needs to come down in the country,” Trump told Fox News. “If it’s not, terrible things will happen.” As he talked about cooling down, however, Trump repeated his attacks on the FBI over the investigation into classified documents that took place at his Florida estate last week. Trump defended his supporters’ attacks in the interview, saying they were “not going to put up with another fraud” and describing the FBI’s previous investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election as a “witch hunt.” “People are so angry about what’s going on,” he said. The FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago a week ago in connection with its investigation into whether Trump violated the Espionage Act and other federal laws. Agents seized 11 sets of classified documents from the estate, although Trump claimed he declassified the material. The investigation has sparked waves of criticism of the FBI and DOJ from Trump and his allies, who argue the probe is politically motivated. Some have called to defund the agency. A new intelligence brief reportedly warned of an increase in threats against federal law enforcement following the Mar-a-Lago investigation, citing an incident Thursday at the FBI’s Cincinnati office in which an armed man attempted to breach the building and he later died in a confrontation with law enforcement. The Hill requested comment from the DOJ. The New York Times reported over the weekend that a person close to Trump contacted a Justice Department official to relay a message from the former president on Thursday. “The country is on fire. What can I do to reduce the heat?’ stated the message Trump wanted to convey to the attorney general, the Times reported. Trump told Fox News that he has yet to hear back from the department about his offer of help, but added that he believes “they would want the same thing.” However, the former president himself has been one of the most vocal critics of the FBI and DOJ since the investigation, repeatedly denouncing the probe as politically motivated and at times suggesting an unproven conspiracy that the FBI was fabricating evidence to hurt him. Trump as recently as Sunday afternoon called the investigation “an abuse of law enforcement” and a “stealth attack on democracy” on TruthSocial. “There has never been a time like this where law enforcement was used to raid the home of a former president of the United States, and there is tremendous anger in the country — at a level never seen before, except in very dangerous times,” Trump told the Fox News. His allies echo that sentiment, but Trump’s bid for the Justice Department comes after Democrats and some Republicans called on Trump to tone down his rhetoric amid the heightened threat level. Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called Trump’s rhetoric “inflammatory” during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I don’t want to put any law enforcement in the eye of a potential threat,” McCaul said. “And this is someone who has worked with law enforcement for most of my career.” While declining to comment on the investigation itself, the White House rejected the idea that the Justice Department is making decisions for political gain. “This is not about politicizing anything,” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “That’s not true at all,” he continued. “And I’ll remind our folks on the other side that the FBI director was appointed by the president’s predecessor.” Homebuilder confidence falls for eighth straight month Billions would starve to death in nuclear war: survey Attorney General Merrick Garland issued remarks Thursday announcing that he personally approved the investigation while similarly condemning the attacks on the DOJ and the FBI. “I will not remain silent when their integrity is unfairly attacked,” Garland said. Update: 11:35 am
