Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper criticized former President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents, calling it careless and potentially harmful to national security. Trump faces 37 felony counts for allegedly retaining sensitive defense information and obstructing investigators trying to retrieve them. Barr and Esper both said they would not trust Trump with classified information if he were to be elected president again in 2024. Former Vice President Mike Pence has also criticized Trump's alleged actions, saying they jeopardize national security and put the Armed Forces at risk.
Former US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has described Donald Trump's hoarding of classified documents as "unauthorized, illegal and dangerous" during an interview with CNN's State of the Union. Esper's comments contradict Trump's allies who have argued that the documents were his to take. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to his alleged illegal retention of documents from the White House following the end of his presidency, including classified materials.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has stated that Donald Trump's hoarding of classified documents was "unauthorized, illegal and dangerous." Esper's assessment contradicts Trump's allies' claims that the documents were his to take. Trump faces 37 charges related to his alleged illegal retention of documents from the White House, including classified materials, and 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York state.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has criticized former President Donald Trump for his handling of classified information, calling him a security risk. Esper compared Trump's legal case to that of a Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of posting secret military documents on social media. Esper outlined scenarios in which the mishandling of classified documents could cause trouble for the United States. He also said that Trump could not be trusted with the nation's secrets again if proven true under the indictment by the special counsel.
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that if the allegations made in Donald Trump's federal indictment over his handling of classified documents prove true, the former president should not be trusted with the nation's secrets again. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges, including 31 counts of "willful retention of national defense information." Esper's critical remarks about his onetime boss follow damning language by another high-profile Trump administration official - former Attorney General Bill Barr - who said last week that Trump was "toast" if even half of the details in his indictment were true.
