Sen. Chuck Grassley said he spoke with FBI Director Christopher A. Wray following his agency's raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and warned him about losing public credibility.
The Iowa Republican revealed his statement to Politico, specifying that he first sounded the alarm on the effect of political influence in the FBI "less than a week ago" before bringing it up to Wray on Tuesday.
"If the FBI isn't extraordinarily transparent about its justification for yesterday's actions and committed to rooting out political bias that has infected their most sensitive investigations, they will have sealed their own fate," he said.
Grassley also criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland, writing that the Justice Department should be completely clear with its reason for its unannounced search.
"The Justice Department as a whole bears responsibility in upholding the public trust, and in a matter so consequential to our democratic process, Attorney General Garland also owes the American people full transparency," the congressman wrote.
The FBI and Justice Department have yet to make an official statement on their justification for the raid, with several media outlets reporting that the event appears to stem from suspicions that Trump withheld classified documents after leaving the presidency.
On Tuesday, another part of the saga seemingly unfolded, with Trump-ally Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., having his phone confiscated by FBI officials while on vacation with his family.
"They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish," Perry said of the incident.
"My phone contains info about my legislative and political activities and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents, and friends," he continued. "None of this is the government's business."