Top Republican candidates criticise Trump in handling of classified documents case

Former President Donald Trump faces 37 federal charges, including 31 counts under the Espionage Act

Former President Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. AP Photo

Fresh off Donald Trump's 37-count indictment, several top Republicans, including presidential contenders Mike Pence and Asa Hutchinson, criticised the former US president's handling of classified information on Sunday.

The comments, including harsh criticism from Mr Trump's former defence secretary Mark Esper, came on the first round of major weekend political talk shows since Trump pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom on Tuesday. He stands accused of mishandling some of the US government's most sensitive secrets.

These were included in reams of documents Mr Trump took with him upon leaving the White House which, allegations say, Mr Trump hid from investigators trying to recover them.

The remarks on Sunday stand in sharp contrast to those of many Republicans in congress who have either defended Mr Trump or declined to criticise him.

“I can't defend what is alleged,” Mr Pence, Trump's former vice president, told NBC's Meet the Press, alluding to his ex-boss's behaviour in the documents affair.

Mr Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, went further, calling the allegations “serious and disqualifying” and said Mr Trump's looming prosecution will have a major political dimension as it unfolds during the 2024 election.

“I think that he should drop out” of the 2024 race, Mr Hutchinson told ABC's This Week.

Mr Hutchinson also expressed his disapproval of fellow candidates in the Republican primary race who promised to pardon Mr Trump before his trial.

He emphasised that such discussions alone undermine the integrity of the American justice system.

Regarding the broader accusation of the “weaponisation of the Justice Department,” Mr Hutchinson pointed to Donald Trump's own actions.

Mr Trump had previously stated that if elected president, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Biden family.

According to Mr Hutchinson, this constitutes a weaponisation of the Justice Department. He urged everyone to step back from making such accusations.

National security row

Meanwhile, President Trump, who believes that the Department of Justice is being used against him, faces allegations of jeopardising national security.

He is accused of illegally keeping top secret military plans and classified information on nuclear weapons at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The case is one of multiple legal challenges casting a shadow over his run for another term in the White House in 2024.

“If the allegations are true, that it contained information about our nation's security … it could be quite harmful to the nation,” Mr Esper told CNN's State of the Union.

“No one is above the law,” said Mr Esper, who called the revelations “disturbing.”

But some Republican presidential contenders are finding themselves in the tricky position of trying to determine what makes them different from Mr Trump, the current front-runner for the party's nomination, without alienating the former president's loyal and powerful base.

“The former president deserves his day in court,” Mr Pence added. “I want to reserve judgment about this until he's had an opportunity to take his case into the courtroom.”

“I don't know why some of my competitors in the Republican primary presume the president will be found guilty.”

With reporting from AP