Republican heavyweights condemned Trump after his major accusations

Several leading figures in the U.S. Republican Party, including candidates for the 2024 presidential election, criticized former President Donald Trump on Sunday after his historic federal indictment in Miami this week.

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“I can’t defend what he’s accused of,” declared Mike Pence on NBC, his running mate against 2024 Republican primary candidate Donald Trump.

Mr Trump appeared in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, a first for a former president, for possessing top-secret documents after leaving the White House and refusing to return them.

He pleaded not guilty, paving the way for a trial that could be highly damaging to his campaign for the 2024 US presidential election.

“I think he should drop out” of the race for the White House, former Arkansas governor and Republican primary candidate Asa Hutchinson announced on ABC, calling the allegations “serious and without merit.”

Mark Esper, who served as Donald Trump’s defense secretary, said: “If the allegations are true, they contain information about our nation’s security. […] That could be very damaging to the nation,” he said on CNN.

“No one is above the law,” he added, ruling that the revelations were “disturbing.”

These comments contrast with those of many Republicans in Congress who have supported Trump or refused to criticize him.

But some Republican presidential candidates find themselves in a delicate position, eager to differentiate themselves from Donald Trump while avoiding alienating his loyal base.

Mike Pence insisted that the former president was “qualified” to be called to court, while “declining to comment on the case until he. [Donald Trump] He got an opportunity to take his case to court.

“I don’t know why some of my rivals in the Republican primary think the president is guilty,” he added.

Donald Trump has been accused of endangering the security of the United States by keeping classified documents, including information about military plans or nuclear weapons, in the bathroom or storage room of his Florida luxury home Mar-a-Lago. Documents in violation of court orders.

This is one of several court filings regarding his bid for a second term in 2024.