In Case You Missed It, new reporting from USA Today highlights corrupt politician Adam Laxalt’s attacks on federal law enforcement. Laxalt called the FBI’s recent investigation into highly classified documents at Mar-a-Lago a “weaponization of our federal agencies,” “un-American” and the “crime of the century.”

Laxalt has a history of standing against law enforcement officers for his own personal gain. He faced major criticism from law enforcement leadership for turning his back on police and fundraising off the Big Lie, even after it fueled the January 6 insurrection (which Laxalt said was exaggerated, according to the AP). Just last month, he faced more criticism from Nevada law enforcement leaders after CNN revealed that his senior aide stood with Oath Keepers at the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection. 

Read more: 

USA Today: Defund the FBI? Why Republican rallying cry could boost Democrats in midterm elections

Joey Garrison and Mabinty Quarshie // 8.29.22

Key Points: 

• Republicans from the far right of the party have pushed a mantra of “defund the FBI” in the aftermath of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence – a stark contrast to the GOP’s historical legacy as the party defending “law and order” and backing police officers during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. 
• Threats against law enforcement, particularly the FBI, have reached levels not seen since the 1990s, amid a barrage of online attacks against the agency.
• It’s created an opening for President Joe Biden and Democrats less than 80 days before the midterm elections. In recent elections, Republicans seized on the “defund the police” slogan of progressive activists to argue Democrats are soft on crime. Now, Democrats are framing calls to “defund the FBI” as the latest example of an increasingly extreme “ultra-MAGA” Republican Party.
• Adam Laxalt, the Republican Senate nominee in Nevada, described the search as “just another example of the growing weaponization of our federal agencies by the Left while people like Hunter Biden live freely,” in a tweet. 
• His opponent, incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, slammed Laxalt’s attacks on law enforcement in a statement to USA TODAY. 
• “Adam Laxalt led efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Nevada for Trump and he helped spread the Big Lie that fueled the violent mob at the Capitol that day,” Cortez Masto said. “If Adam’s attacking our federal officers, he’s not standing with our law enforcement.” 

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