Former President Donald Trump warned that if he were to be indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, there would be “problems in this country the likes of which we may never have seen before.”
Trump, speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, added: “I don’t think the American people will stand for it.”
Hewitt, who is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, noted that critics would describe the comment as incitement to violence and called on Trump to respond to the claim. “This is not inflammatory, I’m just saying what my opinion is. I don’t think the people of this country will stand for it,” Trump said.
When pressed by Hewitt, Trump said he thought there would be “big problems, big problems.”
Federal agents conducted a court-authorized search of Trump’s clubhouse and residence on Aug. 8 as part of a long-running investigation into whether government documents, some of which are classified, were being storing at Mar-a-Lago rather than returning them to the city. National Archives.
The FBI probe is the latest legal pressure on Trump, who now faces increasing scrutiny as the criminal investigation intensifies. The investigation is looking into whether he or his former aides took classified government documents and stored them improperly or never returned them. Trump’s lawyer has argued that the former president cooperated with federal authorities and that many of the documents were covered by executive privilege.
In January 2021, the House charged Trump with a single count of “inciting insurrection” for his role in rousing a mob of his supporters to prevent Congress from counting the electoral college votes. election for Joe Biden. A crowd of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to stop the count, an attack that left five dead and dozens of law enforcement officers injured.
Trump’s comments Thursday came hours before officials from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security briefed Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee about threats against federal officials. After the briefing, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee’s chairman, called Trump’s rhetoric dangerous.
“Inviting the mob back into the streets is exactly what happened here on January 6, 2021,” Durbin told reporters. After noting that five people died as a result of the attack and 149 law enforcement officers were injured that day, the senator said that “Trump’s careless and inflammatory rhetoric has consequences.”
In the interview with Hewitt, Trump also said he “would not be barred from running” if he were impeached. “I wouldn’t take you out of the arena,” Hewitt said, trying to clarify the former president’s position. Trump replied, “I wouldn’t.”
Trump has repeatedly hinted at another run for the presidency in 2024.
In 1920, socialist Eugene V. Debs ran for president from prison, where he was serving time at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for speaking out against the draft during World War I. Debs and his running mate, Emil Seidel, got 913,693 votes, but … as in their previous campaigns, no electoral votes.
Trump’s warning of trouble echoes Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-C.), who told Fox News last month that there would be “riots in the streets” if Trump is impeached. Trump appeared to approve of the idea, sharing a link to a video of Graham’s comments on his Truth Social platform.