Trump’s GOP primary rivals react to classified documents indictment

Former President Donald Trump’s unprecedented federal indictment over the mishandling of classified documents was met with mixed reactions from his 2024 GOP presidential primary rivals — with some expressing tepid condemnation while others blasted the prosecution as a “mortal threat to a free society.”

The Justice Department was expected to make public a seven-count indictment charging the 76-year-old with willful retention of national defense information; conspiracy to obstruct justice; withholding a document or record; corruptly concealing a document or record; concealing a document in a federal investigation; scheme to conceal; and false statements and representations.

Trump released a statement Thursday proclaiming his innocence and railing at “the corrupt Biden Administration” over what he called “the Boxes Hoax,” referring to the cache of classified documents that were discovered at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

Here’s how his political adversaries reacted to the news:

Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s chief opponent in the race for the GOP nomination, condemned his rival’s indictment, which marks the first time in US history that a former president has faced federal criminal charges.

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society,” DeSantis tweeted Thursday. “We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?”

Chris Christie

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former Trump ally-turned-critic, wrote on Twitter that he will wait until “the facts are revealed” to issue a full statement — but he did not miss an opportunity to take a dig at his opponent.

“We don’t get our news from Trump’s Truth Social account,” wrote Christie on Twitter. “Let’s see what the facts are when any possible indictment is released. As I have said before, no one is above the law, no matter how much they wish they were. We will have more to say when the facts are revealed.”

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson called Trump’s federal indictment — coming on the heels of his New York fraud charges — a distraction for moving the GOP forward.

“Donald Trump’s actions—from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law—should not define our nation or the Republican Party. This is a sad day for our country,” he said in a statement.

“While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign,” Hutchinson said.

Mike Pence

Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, who announced his run for president this week — just days after dodging charges related to classified records that were discovered at his Indiana home — kept mum about the indictment.

During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash Wednesday, former Vice President Pence said he did not want to see his former boss indicted, although he conceded that handling of classified material “is a very serious matter.”

“I think it would be terribly divisive to the country,” he said of a potential indictment. “This kind of action by the Department of Justice I think would only fuel further division in the country.”

“I hope the DOJ thinks better of it and resolves these issues without an indictment,” he added.

Nikki Haley

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as the US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, also did not publicly react to the news of his indictment.

But in the run-up to Trump’s arrest in New York City on 34 felony counts in the Stormi Daniels hush money scheme, Haley accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing “revenge” to score “political points.”

“When you get into political prosecutions like this, it’s more about revenge than it is about justice,” Haley said in an interview for Fox News’ Special Report in late March.

Larry Elder

Larry Elder, a conservative talk radio host who joined the race for the White House in April, slammed Trump’s indictment as “more partisan prosecution.”

“Hillary violates the Espionage Act—yet skates. FBI/DOJ whistleblowers tell of 2-tiered justice,” Elder added. “FBI informant doc claims Joe & Hunter got $10mil in bribes.”

Vivek Ramaswamy

Fellow presidential hopeful and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy released a statement and a video accusing the Biden administration of creating two tiers of justice in the US.

“I never thought we’d see the day when the U.S. President deputizes the DOJ to arrest his lead rival in the middle of an election. Obama shamefully tried to deputize the FBI to infiltrate Trump’s 2016 campaign, but they’re leaving nothing to chance this time around: the federal police state is outright arresting Trump,” he stated.

“This is an affront to every citizen: we cannot devolve into a banana republic where the party in power uses police force to arrest its political opponents. It’s hypocritical for the DOJ to selectively prosecute Trump but not Biden,” Ramaswamy added.

Tim Scott

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) weighed in on his rival’s indictment in an interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, pointing a finger of blame at what he termed “the weaponization of the Department of Justice against a former president.”

“The one thing that makes America the city on the hill is confidence in our justice system, and today what we see is a justice system where the scales are weighted,” Scott added.