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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: "Hillary had the emails"
Photograph:
JONATHAN DRAKE / REUTERS
Donald Trump is said to have kept secret documents in the bathroom and boasted that he knew about attack plans by the United States: The allegations against the former US president listed in the indictment weigh heavily – his strongest competitor in the race for the Republican presidential nomination is still not moving away from him.
In a speech in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Friday evening, Ron DeSantis did not explicitly mention the name of his opponent – but he spoke of "double standards" in indictments. Hillary had the emails," DeSantis said, alluding to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's email affair. Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state than for a former Republican president?" One cannot allow a group of society to use the power of the state against groups it does not like. "And that's exactly what we've seen," said DeSantis, who is currently in second place behind Trump in polls for the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump had announced on Thursday evening that he had been indicted in the affair of secret documents by the Department of Justice – on Friday, the indictment was published. This includes, for example, the deliberate retention of documents containing national security information. This point falls under the US Espionage Act and can be punished with up to ten years in prison alone.
»An eye for an eye«
Other Republicans also lined up behind Trump. "This is not the way justice should be pursued in our country," presidential candidate Nikki Haley wrote on Twitter. "The American people are exhausted by the overburdening of the prosecution, the double standards and the politics of revenge." According to the New York Times, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that he would pardon Trump immediately after his election as US president after a possible distribution.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, wrote on the platform on Thursday evening of a "dark day for the United States of America". Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona spoke more sharply. "We have now reached a phase of war," he tweeted. »An eye for an eye.«
Few Republicans disagree
The actions of the judiciary against Trump were defended by only a few Republicans. Presidential candidate Chris Christie called the indictment "devastating" and told CNN that "the facts presented here are damning." Competitor Asa Hutchinson reiterated his belief that Trump should drop out of the race for the presidential nomination. Party outsider Mitt Romney also spoke of "serious allegations". Trump, however, has himself to blame for this.
sol/AP/Reuters