Some Republican politicians and officials fanned out Sunday to denounce Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents but also to question the motives of the US justice department in bringing an unprecedented 37-count indictment against the former president.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who announced a run for the Republic presidential nomination last week, called Trump\u2019s conduct outlined in the criminal charges \u201cdeeply disturbing\u201d, adding that \u201cwe have to have a full trial here and fair one\u201d.
Speaking to CBS Face the Nation, Christie acknowledged that he had questions about politically \u201cequitable\u201d application of the law when it comes to politicians but that did not change accusations about Trump\u2019s conduct.
\u201cWe would not be here if Donald Trump had simply returned the documents that the government had asked him to return dozens of times,\u201d Christie said. That conduct, he said, is \u201cindefensible\u201d and if true as alleged in the indictment \u201che is in severe legal trouble\u201d.
Trump\u2019s record in the White House, including undermining and diminishing his own cabinet appointees, amounted to the behavior of a \u201cpetulant child\u201d, Christie said, \u201cbecause when you disagreed with him, you get called names\u201d.
Christie, who was fired from running Trump\u2019s transition just days after Trump won the presidency in 2016, added: \u201cLook, it\u2019s Father\u2019s Day today, and I want to talk to every father out there \u2013 if your child acted like this you send them to their room, you wouldn\u2019t send them to the White House.\u201d
Separately, Christie described Trump on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union\u201d as a \u201cthree-time loser\u201d, referring to his loss of a legislative majority in congress in 2018, the White House in 2020, and in the mid-term elections in 2022, which was partially seen as a referendum of Trump-endorsed candidates.
According to opinion polls, Christie is running in third place among Republican voters for his party\u2019s nomination behind Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
\u201cI will do what I need to do to be up on that stage to try to save my party and save my country from going down the road of being led by three-time loser Donald Trump,\u201d Christie said of his nascent campaign.
Meanwhile, former vice-president Mike Pence argued that the issue for Republicans underlying Trump\u2019s 37-count criminal indictment was that the charges were brought by a politicized justice department \u2013 regardless of whether the allegations in the complaint are proved by the government.
\u201cThe American people \u2013 or I will tell you among Republicans, vast majority of Republicans \u2013 have lost confidence in the department of justice,\u201d Pence said. He vowed to \u201cclean house at the highest levels of the department of justice\u201d if he is elected president.
Trump\u2019s former attorney general William Barr told CBS that the investigation and charges that followed was not a situation in which Trump is \u201cthe victim or that this is government overreach\u201d.
\u201cHe provoked this whole problem himself,\u201d Barr said.
Also Sunday, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson \u2013 another of the 10 announced Republican presidential candidates \u2013 cautioned his party\u2019s lawmakers to \u201cback off\u201d allegations that the justice department has been \u201cweaponized\u201d. Hutchinson alluded to how Trump recently promised that, if he\u2019s elected president, he intends to appoint a special prosecutor \u201cto go after\u201d Joe Biden and the president\u2019s family.
\u201cThat\u2019s called a weaponization of the justice department,\u201d Hutchinson told ABC\u2019s This Week. \u201cAnd so let\u2019s back off of these accusations, and let\u2019s get back to being the party of the rule of law, of the justice system supporting law enforcement and the equal application of law.\u201d
Nonetheless, Hutchinson also made it a point to say the justice department had \u201cmade some bad decisions\u201d.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland contended that the justice department had followed the rules and regulations for special counsels in charging Trump. \u201cWe live in a democracy. These kind of matters are adjudicated through the judicial system,\u201d Garland said.
Trump\u2019s former secretary of defense Mark Esper told CNN that Trump\u2019s hoarding of classified documents was \u201cunauthorized, illegal and dangerous\u201d.
Asked if he thought Trump could be trusted with classified information again, Esper said: \u201cBased on his actions, again, if proven true under the indictment by the special counsel, no. It\u2019s just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation\u2019s security at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n