Utah Mayor Staggs Slams Romney for Blaming Trump for Own Indictment

After Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) charged that former President Donald Trump had brought a recent indictment “upon himself,” senatorial candidate and mayor of Riverton, Utah, Trent Staggs slammed the failed presidential candidate who he intends to unseat next year, accusing him of weakness in the face of the “weaponization” of the Justice Department against political opponents.

In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Sunday, Staggs accused President Joe Biden of “abusing his power to weaponize the Justice Department against a political opponent.” 

“This is full-on banana republic stuff here,” he stated.

However, the reaction of Romney prompted an even greater reproval.

“And — yet again — Mitt Romney gives a milquetoast response, showing us once more, he has no backbone,” Staggs said.

“For him, the Senate is about settling his petty beefs, not upholding the Constitution,” he concluded.

On Thursday, the Riverton mayor lamented the “unprecedented times” we are currently living in, claiming that both Republicans and Democrats should be scared, viewing current events “as a sign of things to come if we do not unite and say no more.”

The matter follows Romney’s statement on Friday claiming that former President Donald Trump “brought these charges upon himself,” after the 45th president announced he had been indicted on charges 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, recognizing that the former president is “entitled to the presumption of innocence,” while contending that Trump’s indictment was his own doing.

He also accused Trump of “other actions offensive to the national interest,” pointing to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot as one example:

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 seems to show 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.

Last week, Staggs accused Romney of seeking the favor of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over the interests of America, following the former Republican presidential nominee’s decision to vote in favor of increasing the nation’s debt ceiling, 

Staggs, 49, is among multiple potential contenders predicted to position themselves more conservatively than Romney — who he described as a “millionaire from Massachusetts” who relocated to Utah.

Over the months leading to his official declaration, Staggs had become more and more outspoken on a variety of topics.

After announcing his run for the U.S. Senate in May, Staggs charged that Romney “doesn’t represent most Utahns,” and that he could no longer sit by and watch as Romney and Schumer “mortgage my children’s future.”

FLASHBACK — Mitt Romney Claps with Democrats for KBJ Confirmation as Republicans Leave Chamber:

“This guy votes to add trillions in spending, votes twice to impeach President Trump, but then turns around and votes to confirm guys like Open Borders Mayorkas and Radical Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson,” he said, adding “it’s unacceptable.”

In March, he vowed to prevent the “communist-style social credit scoring” from guiding Riverton’s investment decisions, as his city unanimously approved a resolution objecting to the use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies in credit rating agencies, investment firms, and other financial institutions.

Subsequently, he slammed woke “indoctrination” in the country’s schools, including the availability of “inappropriate” and “pornographic” text materials, as he called to prioritize students’ “physical, mental, and spiritual” safety.

Insisting “there should be no greater priority than our children’s safety; physical, mental, and spiritual,” Staggs said it was his “number one job to protect the health and safety of all our residents.”