The editorial board for The National Review said one cannot read the allegations outlined in the federal indictment against former President Trump and “not be appalled.”
The editorial board said in a post on Saturday that it has in the past pointed out times that it believes Trump’s opponents have manipulated the law to pursue politically motivated legal claims against him. It added that the members of the board do not like the precedent of a federal prosecutor who serves under the president indicting the president’s lead rival for reelection.
“That said, it is impossible to read the indictment against Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case and not be appalled at the way he handled classified documents as an ex-president, and responded to the attempt by federal authorities to reclaim them,” the editorial states.
The board for the conservative news outlet noted that many of the boxes that Trump had moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency only contained newspaper clippings, photos, cards and letters, but they also included hundreds of documents with classified markings.
The information on the documents covered information relating to U.S. nuclear programs, defense capabilities, vulnerabilities and plans for potential retaliatory action in the event of an attack from another country, according to the indictment.
The board said Trump no longer had a right to possess these documents after his term ended, and he stored them “recklessly” in locations like his bedroom, a bathroom and a ballroom at Mar-a-Lago. It also mentioned federal prosecutors’ allegations that Trump ignored requests for the documents to be returned for months and attempted to keep investigators from obtaining the documents he had.
The editorial board argued the “most damning” part of the indictment is the transcript of the conversation Trump had in which he showed one document to a reporter who was not authorized to see it.
“Equally damning, particularly for someone who was and would like again to be the nation’s chief executive, responsible for the enforcement of the laws, is the evidence that Trump not only deceived the investigators and the grand jury, but his own lawyers — knowing and intending that they would consequently obstruct the investigation,” the editorial states.
The indictment alleges that Trump had an aide, who has also been indicted, move boxes of documents away from a storage room when one of his attorneys came to Mar-a-Lago to confirm that the subpoena was being fully complied with. This caused his legal team to wrongly tell investigators that all documents had been turned over.
The board said it understands conservatives might be frustrated with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not facing charges for her use of a private email server while serving and that President Biden might not face charges for his own alleged mishandling of some classified documents.
“But it doesn’t change the fact the country wouldn’t be in this uncharted territory if Trump hadn’t taken documents he had no right to, and simply complied when asked to give them back,” the editorial concludes.
The board previously declared in November that it would reject Trump as a choice for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.
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