Rubio warns of future political consequences after FBI’s search of Trump’s residence

During a roundtable meeting with the Republican Jewish Coalition on Friday, Sen. Marco Rubio said the FBI’s Aug. 8 raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is “playing with fire” and that it could have future consequences.

“In politics, unfortunately, what comes around goes around,” Rubio said. “So what you’re now normalizing, and what you’re creating now is a situation where, at some point, someone else will be in power, and they’re going to do it back.”

Rubio, a Republican, offered these comments to about 50 supporters crammed into an Aventura bagel shop. He’s running for reelection against Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Demings. Lobbyist and former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman led the discussion.

“I’m sitting next to somebody who I love,” Coleman said. “Think about how different the world would be today if Marco Rubio was [president] instead of Joe Biden.”

“It’d be my house they’re raiding,” Rubio joked.

Rubio, who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for the release of the unredacted search warrant and probable cause affidavit. He added that he was kept in the dark regarding the sensitive nature of the classified documents federal agents seized.

“Now I have a problem,” he said. “Never once have we ever been informed or told that there is some deeply concerning counterintelligence concern about documents that were retained.”

Rubio’s comments echoed those he and other Florida GOP leaders made this week, describing the search as a “Third World” act.

“So suddenly we become one of these countries where whoever’s in power uses the tools of the federal government to go after their political opponents,” he said. “It’s all bad. It’s bad for the country. It sets a terrible precedent, which I fear will now be followed in the other direction by some, or at least [there will] be demands for it. And then we’re the Third World.”

He pointed to the June arrest of former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro, whom federal agents detained at Reagan National Airport.

Rubio said Navarro was treated “as if he’s some sort of serial killer.”

“That’s what really bothers me,” he continued. “It’s not just the raid, not just the arrest. It’s the way it’s being done. It smells like politics.”