Trump Indicted Under Espionage Act. What Will It Mean For FITN GOP Primary?

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Multiple media sources reported Thursday night that former President Donald Trump has been indicted on multiple counts as part of the Biden Department of Justice’s special counsel probe into his handling of classified documents. At least one of the charges is that Trump violated the Espionage Act, according to his attorney Jim Trusty.

“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump said in a statement, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is ‘secured’ by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time.”

“I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” he added.

Trump is already awaiting trial by the Manhattan District Attorney on charges related to the handling of business records. Most legal observers say the case is weak at best, feeding the belief among Trump supporters that progressive D.A. Alvin Bragg is politically motivated.

Republicans, including many who do not support Trump in the 2024 primary, say they are troubled by the treatment of the former president. They fear the indictment, particularly with the treatment of Hillary Clinton and Biden as a backdrop, will undermine trust in the justice system.

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society,” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said via Twitter. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?”

Vivek Ramaswamy, who was in New Hampshire campaigning when the news broke, released a statement condemning the indictments.

“I never thought we would see the day when the U.S. President deputizes the DOJ to arrest his lead rival in the middle of an election,” Ramaswamy said, adding: “The federal police state is outright arresting Trump.”

And former Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that an indictment “would send a terrible message to the world.”

How will Granite State Republicans respond to the news?

“These indictments constitute the most serious legal challenge Trump has ever faced, and they will galvanize his most ardent supporters as well as his increasingly bold primary challengers,” said GOP strategist Jim Merrill. “They also serve as a reminder that nothing has changed since the golden escalator ride in 2015 — the GOP is seen, shaped, steered and seared by and through the ever-present prism of Trump.”

Republican comms professional Alicia Xanathopoulos was less kind.

“Cultists will cult. The rest of us will see the time of the Trump era must end, for the good of this nation.”

“It’s too soon to evaluate. But it ain’t good,” said longtime New Hampshire political pro Tom Rath. “Those who have been with him forever will still be there and view this as evidence of the conspiracy against him. Those who haven’t been fans will use this as further validation to look elsewhere.

“If I were on the Trump defense team, I would be very concerned and their client’s biggest challenge is keeping his mouth shut. This case will not be decided in the newspapers, but in the courtroom. He better understand that.

“The wheels of Justice grind very slowly but they do grind. This is real. They and he better understand that. This is not reality TV. This is reality,” Rath added.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.