Former President Trump on Thursday urged the Republican Party to take action in response to the Justice Department filing additional charges against him over his handling and retention of classified materials.
Trump told Fox News Digital shortly after the superseding indictment was filed that he believed the latest charges amounted to “election interference at the highest level,” calling the allegations “ridiculous.”
“This is prosecutorial misconduct used at a level never seen before,” Trump said. “If I weren’t leading Biden by a lot in numerous polls, and wasn’t going to be the Republican nominee, it wouldn’t be happening. It wouldn’t be happening.”
The former president told Fox News Digital that the country “is suffering from DOJ abuse,” adding, “Hopefully the Republican Party will do something about it.”
Some Trump allies have floated cutting funding for the special counsel’s office amid investigations into the former president or defunding federal law enforcement.
The Justice Department in a new filing Thursday accused Trump of attempting to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago property.
It accuses Trump of acting with Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager of the hotel, and Trump’s other co-defendant Walt Nauta with trying to delete the footage.
The indictment notes efforts from de Oliveira, 56, to determine how long security footage was stored on the Mar-a-Lago system. It says he later told another Mar-a-Lago employee that “‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted.”
Trump had previously pleaded not guilty to the original charges filed in the case.
The superseding indictment comes as a grand jury met in Washington, D.C., in another special counsel probe into Trump’s efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election.