By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday criticized the indictment of rival Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, saying there had been what he called double standards in the broadcast. accusations.
US prosecutors unveiled a 37-count indictment against Trump on Friday, accusing the former president of risking some of the country’s most sensitive security secrets after leaving office in 2021.
“I think there needs to be a standard of justice in this country,” DeSantis said in remarks Friday night at a party convention in Greensboro, North Carolina. He condemned what he called the “militarization” of government agencies, although he did not mention Trump by name in his speech.
“Hillary had the emails,” DeSantis said. “Is there a different standard for a Democratic Secretary of State compared to a former Republican President?”
Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, lost to Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. During the campaign, she faced questions about her handling of classified documents after that it became public knowledge that she had used a private mail server at home for some of her correspondence.
A US State Department investigation found no evidence of willful mishandling of classified information by department employees, and the FBI said Clinton had been “reckless” but did not recommend of criminal prosecution.
Trump faces 37 charges, including charges of unauthorized withholding of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice, after leaving the White House in 2021, federal court documents released to the public show. Friday.
Republicans have alleged that the investigation into Trump, who is running to oust Democratic President Joe Biden from the White House in 2024, is politically motivated. Biden and senior officials have repeatedly said the Justice Department is acting independently.
“You can’t have one faction of society weaponizing state power against factions they don’t like. And that’s what we’ve seen,” said DeSantis, who ranks far behind Trump. in the opinion polls for the Republican Candidacy.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, editing by Rosalba O’Brien)