Republicans are moving away from former President Donald Trump following his recent indictment in connection to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. On Tuesday, Trump became the first former president to be federally indicted on criminal charges.
During his appearance before a federal court on Tuesday he pleaded not guilty to the federal charges that range from retaining classified documents to obstructing justice and refusing to cooperate for the return of the documents back to the federal government.
Trump is currently the front-runner in the Republican field for the 2024 presidential nomination, however, according to one poll, support for his third presidential campaign has swindled following his recent indictment. Still, following his indictment many top House Republicans chose to defend Trump and slam the Department of Justice for the indictment.
The indictment which is the result of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the classified documents found in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate includes 37 felony counts, 31 of which are violations of the Espionage Act. Many of the charges address Trump’s retention of classified documents and his unwillingness to return those documents back to the federal government.
While House Republicans have supported Trump, some Senate Republicans have taken a different approach as they are concerned about the effect of the indictment on their party. While Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell remained quiet in this case, Rep. Steve Womack told CNN’s Manu Raju that he was concerned about anyone with a “reckless disregard” of the case.
Rep. Tim Burchett also stated that if found guilty on federal charges, he would not support Trump.
