Former George W. Bush aide Karl Rove warned in a new op-ed that former President Trump’s federal indictment over his mishandling of classified documents will come at a steep cost to himself and the country.
“No matter the outcome, America will pay a high price for the former president’s reckless petulance. So will he,” Rove wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
Rove, who served as a senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to Bush, wrote that the country has been “plunged into an unprecedented crisis” after Trump was indicted on 37 felony counts last week. The former president pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges Tuesday as he maintains that the federal case against him is a “witch hunt” orchestrated by the weaponization of the government.
Rove said that this indictment is much more serious than Trump’s indictment in connection to falsifying business records in the Manhattan court, where he also pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records earlier this year.
“Unlike Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s charges of falsifying business records, this indictment is devastating in its rigor of evidence and the seriousness of the alleged crimes,” Rove wrote. “Even so, the case will further tear our country apart, as it has a heavy impact on the presidential campaign and—wrongly—undermines confidence in our justice system.”
“The blame for this calamity rests solely on Mr. Trump and his childish impulse to keep mementos from his time in the Oval Office, no matter what the law says,” he added.
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Rove also wrote that when Trump’s trial is over, the county will face a “period of anger, division and recrimination” as some Republicans call for law enforcement agencies, like the FBI, to be eliminated. He said that the call to cut funding to an agency like the FBI is “no different than scrapping the San Francisco Police Department.”
He also suggested that if Trump did not take his “precious keepsakes,” then the country may have avoided the divisive aftermath of his indictment.
Rove, who is also a Fox News contributor, has criticized the former president in the past, saying in April that Trump’s focus on making fun of his rivals is “not smart.” He also said earlier this month that voters could learn a lot about political candidates by “how they trade blows,” pointing to Trump’s ongoing feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who announced his bid for the White House last month.