Former Attorney General Bill Barr said Sunday that it was “ridiculous” to portray former President Trump as the victim of a “witch hunt.”
“It’s a very broad allegation. And it’s very bad,” Barr told Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.” “This idea of Trump here as a victim, a victim of a witch hunt, is ridiculous.”
“Yes, he was a victim in the past. Yes, his opponents hounded him with spurious claims and I supported him against them when he suffered,” he added. “But this is very different. He’s not a victim here.
The Justice Department last week indicted Trump on a 37-count indictment in connection with his handling of classified material after leaving the White House. Evidence collected by the Justice Department revealed that the former president was in possession of documents containing nuclear and military secrets. The charges Trump faces include decades in prison.
Barr, who served as attorney general under Trump, has criticized the former president’s handling of classified documents. He said last week that the investigation was not a “witch hunt,” noting that the investigation would have gone nowhere if the former president had merely flipped through documents.
Barr said Sunday that the government acted responsibly in overseeing Trump’s handling of classified material, adding that Trump had “acted irresponsibly.”
“It is absolutely false that he had the right to keep those documents,” he said. “Those documents are one of the most important secrets in the country.”
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