The failed 2012 Republican presidential nominee, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), said Monday that former President Donald Trump is “entitled to the presumption of innocence” before, in the same statement, claiming the 45th president “brought these charges upon himself.”
Trump announced Thursday he had been indicted on charges “seemingly” connected to the classified document case. Romney, who had been highly critical of the New York grand jury indictment of Trump pursued by Alvin Bragg in a separate case, adopted a different tone in a statement Friday morning:
Like all Americans, Mr. Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The government has the burden of proving its charges beyond a reasonable doubt and securing a unanimous verdict by a South Florida jury.
By all appearances, the Justice Department and special counsel have exercised due care, affording Mr. Trump the time and opportunity to avoid charges that would not generally have been afforded to others.
He then contended that Trump’s indictment was his own doing and accused him of “other actions offensive to the national interest,” pointing to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot as one example:
Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.
These allegations are serious and if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.
After a New York City grand jury returned a 34-count indictment against Trump in April in relation to an investigation into the alleged falsified business records pursued by Bragg’s office, Romney reiterated his disdain for Trump but asserted Bragg was trying to meet a political goal:
I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office. Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda. No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.
The difference between the statements shows that Romney views Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation against Trump surrounding documents he took to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency as having more credibility than Bragg’s case.
WATCH – Trump Calls Alvin Bragg a “CRIMINAL” for Illegal Leaks: “He Should Be Prosecuted”
Trump has called Smith a “Trump Hating THUG” and wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday, “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN.” He noted he has “been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.”
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