Hogan: ‘It bothers me’ that GOP leaders are unwilling to look at evidence in Trump case

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Tuesday that it “bothers” him that Republican leaders are unwilling to look at the evidence in the latest indictment against former President Trump.

“These are very serious charges with very sensitive material that he was hiding in his spare bathroom and in a ballroom,” Hogan said on “CNN This Morning.” “These are not just frivolous charges. And it bothers me that some of our Republican leaders are not even willing to take a look at the evidence.” 

Trump was charged with 37 federal counts over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into the former president.

The indictment detailed the variety of national defense information found in the documents recovered from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and included photos of boxes of documents in a bathroom and a ballroom at the Florida resort.

“Obviously, everybody’s innocent until proven guilty,” Hogan added. “But no man is above the law, not even the president of the United States or the former president of the United States. And we’ve got to get to the facts.” 

Hogan, a staunch Trump critic in the GOP who briefly considered a 2024 White House run, acknowledged Republican allegations about the “weaponization” of federal law enforcement agencies against conservatives.

“I understand Republicans being concerned that we’re not being balanced in our prosecutions, and they can argue about the weaponization of the Justice Department,” he said. “But we’ve got to at least take a look at these facts because it’s very, very serious and concerning, and it deals with national security.”

The former Maryland governor ruled out a 2024 bid for the Republican nomination in March but left the door open to a potential third-party run. However, he said at the time that it wasn’t “something I’m really working toward or thinking about.”