WASHINGTON (HRNW) – Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Sunday defended Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 37-count indictment against Donald Trump on Sunday, saying if the allegations the former president willfully retained hundreds of highly classified documents are proven true, then “he’s toast.”
“I was shocked by the degree of sensitivity of these documents and how many there were, … and I think the counts under the Espionage Act that he willfully retained those documents are solid counts,” Barr, who served under Trump, told, “Fox News Sunday.”
“If even half of it is true, then he’s toast.”
The comments from Barr, who was Trump’s attorney general from February 2019 through December 2020, are notable and were made at a time when many other prominent Republicans have been hesitant to criticize the former president and current Republican front-runner in the 2024 White House race.
Trump is due to appear in a federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday to make his initial appearance on the charges, which include the willful retention of highly sensitive national defense records under the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice, making false statements, conspiracy, and concealment.