Former Attorney General Bill Barr said on Sunday that Donald Trump is “not a victim” following the former president’s 37-count indictment in connection to his possession of top-secret materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving the White House.
“It’s a very detailed indictment. And it’s very, very damning. And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here, a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous,” Barr told Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream.
“Yes, he’s been a victim in the past. Yes, his adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims. I have been at his side defending against them when he is a victim,” Barr continued. “But this is much different. He is not a victim here.”
Trump faces 37 counts on seven charges, including conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of national defense information in connection with his mishandling of classified documents. The documents contained some of the country’s top military and nuclear secrets, according to the indictment.
Barr said on Sunday that Trump “acted irresponsibly” and has no right to keep the documents that were recovered from Mar-a-Lago.
“He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets the country has,” Barr said. “This particular episode of trying to retrieve those documents, the government acted responsibly. And it was Donald J. Trump who acted irresponsibly.”
“Battle plans for an attack on another country or Defense Department documents about our capabilities are in no universe Donald J. Trump’s personal documents. They are the government’s documents,” he added.
