New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (right) said Sunday that Donald Trump’s federal indictment for his handling of classified documents was “self-inflicted”, and he expects “some kind of guilty verdict” against the former president.
Trump faces 37 felony charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, willful withholding of national defense information and making false statements. He is accused of taking top secret documents after leaving the White House and blocking government efforts to retrieve them. Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, is due in court in Miami on Tuesday.
“He had every chance in the world to return all those files and documents,” Sununu told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He did the exact opposite. He boasted of having kept them. So it’s very self-inflicted.
The Republican governor, who recently ruled himself out of the 2024 presidential contest, said Trump should not be the party’s nominee and called on other GOP candidates to recognize the seriousness of the charges. Trump has cited his indictment in fundraising calls and remains the 2024 GOP frontrunner.
“It’s serious,” Sununu said. “If even half of this stuff is true, he’s in real trouble. And it’s self-inflicted. And I just see too many candidates trying to get around it.
So far, most GOP presidential hopefuls, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), have criticized the Justice Department without slamming Trump. Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to pardon Trump.
DeSantis denounced the “militarization” of government agencies and said there was no “one standard of justice in the country.”
Only two candidates, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, have strongly defended the DOJ’s case against Trump.
“Is this the type of conduct we expect from someone who wants to be President of the United States?” Christie asked.
Sununu told CBS’ John Dickerson he did not believe the charges were politically motivated and said all politicians should recognize the unprecedented nature of the indictment.
“Everyone needs to be very upfront and transparent about this and recognize the realities of how serious these accusations are,” Sununu said.
It “will likely come down to some type of guilty verdict against the president, at least on some of these charges,” he added.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr echoed Sununu, telling “Fox News Sunday” that Trump is in real trouble if the spying allegations in the indictment are true.
“I think we have to wait and see what the defense says and what turns out to be true. But I think…if even half of that is true, then it’s toast,” Barr said.