Geraldo Rivera offered a rare defense of former President Donald Trump on Monday over the allegations in the indictment.
Trump announced Thursday he was being indicted. The official unsealing took place on Friday. The charges against Trump include 31 counts of allegedly violating the Espionage Act or the willful retention of national security information, as well as one count of “conspiracy to obstruct justice,” one count of “withholding a document or record,” one count of corruptly concealing a documents or record,” one count of “concealing a documents in a deferral investigation,” one count of “scheme to conceal” and one count of “false statements and representations.”
Rivera took to Twitter to shred the claims that Trump risked national security.
“Re: Trump’s stash of presidential documents, there does not appear to be any breach of national security – no spies – no treason – no indication any foreign power had access to any of these documents,” Rivera tweeted. “In other words, no harm no foul – this document indictment is way overblown.”
Re: Trump’s stash of presidential documents, there does not appear to be any breach of national security-no spies-no treason-no indication any foreign power had access to any of these documents.
In other words, no harm no foul-this document indictment is way overblown.— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) June 12, 2023
Rivera, who has criticized Trump in the past, also raised issue with the indictment on Friday on Fox News, comparing the documents involved to an “overdue library book.” (RELATED: ‘Let Me Finish!’: Lindsey Graham Goes Ballistic On ABC Host Over Clinton Email Server)
“It was dumb, it was arrogant and it was borderline illegal. What it was not is appropriate as the basis for a seven-count federal indictment of the former president of the United States for the first time in the history of our Republic,” Rivera told “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy. “This is like when you didn’t give your library book back. Are you going to send in the cops to comply with [returning it] to the National Archives?”
“It really is preposterous, and I’m very upset about it. I think that it is an attempt, whether conscious or unconscious, to affect the election of 2024.”