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Republicans took to the airwaves Sunday to defend former President Donald Trump in the wake of his 37-count indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents after he left office.
Conservative lawmakers made the case that the felony charges from a Florida grand jury, which accuse him of having highly sensitive materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort and refusing to return them, was politically motivated because he’s seeking another term in the White House.
“I think Donald Trump is stronger today politically than he was before,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I promise you this, most Americans believe — most Republicans believe — that the law is used as a weapon against Donald Trump.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan called the charges “as political as it gets.”
“Frankly, it’s part of a pattern,” the Ohio Republican said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We’ve seen it time and time again with the president over the last seven years. They try one thing then they try another. They’ve continued to go after him, and I think anyone with common sense can see that.”
Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and argues that he declassified the materials prior to leaving the White House.
The indictment says that is not true, citing an audio recording as evidence where he admitted they were still classified.
