Former President Donald Trump Indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith, GOP Rivals Quick to Characterize Charges as “Weaponization” of Justice Department

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by special counsel Jack Smith on four counts related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The indictment alleges that Trump and his co-conspirators spread knowingly false claims of widespread fraud in the election and used those claims as the basis for schemes to keep Trump in power, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump’s rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination have responded to the charges. Asa Hutchinson, Will Hurd and Chris Christie, the most vehemently anti-Donald Trump candidates in the Republican presidential primary, have taken the indictment as vindication. Several of Trump’s GOP rivals were quick to characterize the indictment as an example of the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, while others said it shows Trump is unfit to be president again.

Hutchinson, a former congressman and former Arkansas governor, said in a statement shortly after the charges were unveiled, “Now, our system of Justice will determine whether he is criminally responsible.” He also took the opportunity — as he has in the past — to say Trump should withdraw from the GOP race because of the indictment.

Despite the indictment, Trump remains the clear front-runner in the Republican presidential primary. However, his rivals have used the indictment to call into question his fitness for office and to urge him to step away from the campaign. It remains to be seen how the charges will affect Trump’s standing in the race, and whether he will be held criminally responsible.