GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy labeled the Espionage Act as “un-American” in an interview Sunday, in reference to a set of charges related to the act that former President Trump is facing in a case involving his potential mishandling of classified documents.
“There’s a difference between a bad judgment and a crime,” Ramaswamy said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The Presidential Records Act was nowhere mentioned in that 49-page indictment in the documents case. I think the Espionage Act under which Trump was charged is the most un-American statute in our history.”
In his interview with host George Stephanopoulos, Ramaswamy attempted to draw a line between himself and Trump without alienating the former president’s base. He said while he would not have held on to the classified documents, it was not wrong for Trump to do so.
Trump was charged with 40 criminal counts of mishandling classified documents and attempting to keep them from the government after he left the White House. The case involved an unprecedented FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in an attempt to seize sensitive documents Trump wouldn’t return.
Ramaswamy reiterated that the country should focus on “moving forward” instead of pursuing a “vengeance-driven prosecution.”
“That is not how we should do things in the United States of America,” he said. “And I say this as somebody who is in some of these recent national polls, polling second. It would be easier for me if Donald Trump were eliminated from competition. That is why it’s particularly important for me to state with clarity that on principle, I’m still against seeing him eliminated that way.”
Ramaswamy has also said he would still support Trump even if he was convicted in any of his ongoing legal battles. He also on Sunday reiterated his vow to pardon the former president if he is elected to the White House.