Hutchinson: Trump should ‘step aside’

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson responded to reports that federal prosecutors notified former President Trump he is the target of an investigation, saying Wednesday that Trump should “step aside” in the 2024 race for the White House.

“The @GOP should clarify that there is no pledge to support a nominee if they are found guilty of espionage or a serious felony,” Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor, tweeted late Wednesday. “Donald Trump is the target of an ongoing criminal investigation and he should step aside & put the good of the country above his candidacy.”

Federal prosecutors have notified Trump he is the target of an investigation, which is a signal that a potential indictment could be nearing in connection with the former president’s handling of classified documents, according to multiple reports.

Special counsel Jack Smith has been spearheading two federal investigations into the former president, focusing on Trump’s handling of classified documents after he left the White House as well as his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol.

This is not the first time Hutchinson has called on Trump to halt his campaign due to legal challenges. He called on the former president to “step aside” in March after Trump was indicted on charges of falsifying business records, saying that it would be a “huge distraction.”

After Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in author writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against the former president, Hutchinson said it was another sign of Trump’s “indefensible behavior.”