Sununu says that Trump’s indictment is ‘self-inflicted’
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said that former President Trump's indictment is "self-inflicted," adding that the former president has a "real problem" if prosecutors can back up charges involving violations of the Espionage Act.
"If half of what they say they can prove is provable, then he's got a real problem on our hands and it's self inflicted," Sununu said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "Let's remember that this is a — he had every chance in the world to hand all those files and documents back. He did just the opposite."
Trump was indicted on 37 federal counts last week in connection to his handling of classified documents in an investigation launched by the Justice Department after trump refused to hand over the documents to the National Archives. Sununu, who said last week he would not seek the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, blasted GOP candidates running against Trump on Friday, saying that he would have thought they would be more "aggressive" in knocking Trump over the charges he faced.
Sununu said Sunday that the GOP needs to attack Trump on the charges he is facing, adding that the former president "doesn't represent the Republican Party."
"He's in real trouble, and it is self inflicted. And I just see too many of the candidates trying to walk around it, 'We'll see what happens,'" he said. "To your point, you have to be clear and transparent. You're running against this guy. He's whupping you by 40 points. Everybody needs to come out in concert so it's not just a Chris Christie hitting Donald Trump or this candidate hitting Donald Trump. It is a party message."
Several members of the GOP, including some 2024 candidates challenging Trump in the presidential primary have come to Trump's defense since the indictment was revealed, maintaining that he is bring politically prosecuted.