Former US Attorney General Bill Barr told Fox News Sunday that former President Donald Trump is "toast" if "even half" of the material in his indictment is true.
Barr argued that the incident is "very damning" for Trump, who has claimed he will continue running for president in 2024 even if he is convicted.
"If even half of [the indictment] is true then he's toast. It's a very detailed indictment, and it's very, very damning," Barr told Fox News.
"This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here--the victim of a witch hunt--is ridiculous. Yes, he's been a victim in the past. Yes his adversaries have obsessively pursued him with phony claims, and I've been at his side defending him when he is a victim, but this is much different. He's not a victim here," Barr added.
"He was totally wrong that he had the right to have those documents. Those documents are among the most sensitive secrets the country has," continued the former Attorney General.
Speaking on 77 WABC radio in New York later on Sunday, Trump repeatedly slammed Barr with a litany of insulting terms, including as “a coward who didn’t do his job” as he argued that “virtually everybody” besides Barr finds the indictment a “disgrace.”
“This thing is a disgrace and virtually everybody other than a low life like Bill Barr — who I, as you know, I terminated because he was gutless, he wouldn’t do what you’re supposed to do — but everybody says this is a disgraceful indictment. It shouldn’t happen,” Trump said.
“I think he’s a coward who didn’t do his job. He was desperately afraid of being impeached. You remember when the Democrats were saying, ‘We’re going to impeach Bill Barr.’ There was no reason to impeach him. But they were going to impeach Bill Barr. He was petrified of being impeached,” he continued.
“We had unbelievable people as you know, in the administration, but we also had some that we got wrong and Bill Barr was a mistake. And you know, too bad — but he was a mistake,” Trump said.
The comments came two days after the federal indictment against him in the classified documents case was unsealed.
According to the indictment, Trump faces 37 counts in the case, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, according to the indictment.
Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump, was also indicted in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents.
Special counsel Jack Smith, whom Garland appointed to oversee the investigation after Trump declared his candidacy for president in 2024, emphasized the seriousness of the charges facing Trump on Friday shortly after the indictment was unsealed.
Smith said Trump is innocent until proven guilty but pushed against criticism from Trump and members of the Republican Party who have slammed the probe as politically motivated.