Global Courant
Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio called Tuesday’s indictment of former President Trump “incredibly damaging” to the country and called it a “sad and terrible day” for America as the former president was charged with felony charges for his dealings with secret documents.
“This is a sad and horrible day. I know there are people in the press who are giddy about it, Democrats and partisans who are giddy about it, but this is really bad for America, this indictment,” Rubio told Fox News . “It was a bad decision to bring it. I don’t think it was justified or deserved and we’re going to pay a terrible price for it.”
Trump pleaded not guilty at a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday to 37 federal felonies related to his alleged refusal to hand over classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s months-long investigation.
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Former US President Donald Trump waves from his vehicle after his performance at Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Federal Courthouse, in Miami, Florida, on June 13, 2023 (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images))
Rubio, who joined “America Reports” shortly before the indictment, heavily criticized the indictment as a political stunt that will critically affect the country and undermine confidence in its fundamental institutions if the public believes they are being used as a weapon for political gain. .
“It’s incredibly damaging to the country,” the Florida legislature said. “This further polarizes us at a time when we need to be united…instead, we’re focusing on an indictment that does no harm, no casualties.”
Protesters gather outside Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr.’s U.S. courthouse. during the arraignment of former President Donald Trump in Miami, Florida on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Mega for Fox News Digital)
Rubio said that while the indictment suggests a risk to national security could have arisen from Trump’s storage of classified materials, it does not contain any formal allegation against the former president in that regard. Still, the lawmaker argued, the DOJ chose to proceed with the charges, putting the US on a “really dangerous” trajectory ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
“These kinds of documents don’t belong in Biden’s garage, they don’t belong on Hillary Clinton’s server, they don’t belong in Mar-a-Lago, but there’s no allegation here, even if you don’t read the indictment anywhere. ” it says “and as a result, the national security of the United States was harmed in this way,” he said.
HOW THE TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT PUT OUR COUNTRY ON A TRIAL
“You have to weigh that against an indictment that is going to put our country (an) already divided and polarized country in a really dangerous place,” Rubio continued. “Now all our institutions are being undermined, now this whole country is watching this spectacle play out and it will continue to be so for the next year and a half, not to mention there are real questions about whether the president can get a fair shot here. to get.”
The motorcade carrying former President Donald Trump arrives near the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. U.S. Courthouse in Miami. Trump is appearing in federal court in connection with dozens of felony charges that accuse him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting Justice Department efforts to recover the documents. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Earlier Tuesday, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pledged a pardon for Trump if elected to the Oval Office and challenged his opponents to make the same vow.
“Do you think this ends here?” asked Rubio emphatically. “The next Republican president will be under tremendous pressure to press charges and indict Joe Biden, his family, crackhead son, whoever. The pressure will be extraordinary.”
The indictment accused Trump of failing to comply with demands to return classified documents, including plans for a retaliatory strike against an unnamed foreign power. Other documents include US defense and weapons capabilities and details of the US nuclear program.
“The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could pose a risk to the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the security of the United States military and human resources, and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence gathering methods,” the statement said. charge.
It also accused him of storing the documents in a bathroom and other places in the residence, and showing the documents to visitors. In one instance, he is said to have told individuals of a document, “as president, I could have declassified it,” and, “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
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Trump has dismissed the charges against him by the Biden Justice Department as a “political assault” and insists he is innocent.
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com.
