Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago was "actually a win" for former President Donald Trump.
What he's saying: "It seemed to motivate his base, and people were rushing to his defense and feeling as if he was being picked upon and martyred," said Hogan, a frequent Trump critic. "But I don't think we've seen the end of the story yet."
Driving the news: The FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents during its raid of the former president's home in Florida on Monday.
Flashback: Following the raid, Hogan said in a statement that the "unprecedented circumstances" would require "unprecedented transparency" to avoid further dividing the country.
Hogan last week had called for the FBI to release the documents authorizing its search. The warrant and inventory were unsealed Friday.
- "I understood that without anyone understanding what this was about that it was going to and could lead to even further division and angry rhetoric from both sides," Hogan said on Sunday.
- "I was happy that they did come out and unseal the documents on the search," he added. "And I think it was a step in the right direction, but I think we still have a lot of unanswered questions and we're going to continue until people understand more."
The Maryland governor said his father and family members were in the FBI, and criticized figures on the right who have blasted the agency following the raid.
- "These are dedicated law enforcement officers," Hogan said. "First we had the left defunding the police and attacking police officers and now we have the right saying defund these federal law enforcement officers and it's absurd and it's dangerous."