Elon Musk weighs in on Donald Trump charges

Mr Musk’s comments play into claims by Mr Trump and his supporterss that he is being treated unfairly. Officials have denied the accusations.

On Thursday, Mr Trump said he had been indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, his most serious legal threat yet as he pursues a second White House term.

“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax (sic),” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he broke the news of a historic moment for the United States: the first time a sitting or former commander-in-chief has faced federal charges.

Trump lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN that his client has been indicted on seven charges including the wilful retention of documents in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements, obstruction of justice and a count of conspiracy.

Mr Trusty then quit Mr Trump’s legal team.

Mr Trump is expected to appear in federal courthouse next Tuesday where he will be formally charged.

Scores of Republicans, even those standing against Mr Trump for the Republican presidential ticket, have given their support to him.

On Thursday, Elon Musk suggested Mr Trump’s legal woes may be politically motivated.

Characteristically for Mr Musk, he didn’t make an outright accusation – rather an observation.

“There does seem to be far higher interest in pursuing Trump compared to other people in politics,” he tweeted.

“Very important that the justice system rebut what appears to be differential enforcement or they will lose public trust.”

While some on Twitter supported Mr Musk’s point, others chastised him.

“Could it be that they have evidence Trump committed crimes? It’s not a real endearing defence to cry out loud ‘what about’ my political adversaries?” one user said.

“Isn’t the rebuttal commonly known as a trial?” asked another sarcastically.

Mr Trump was already the first former or sitting president to be charged with a crime — in his case over election-eve hush money payments to a porn star who said she had an affair with him.

In a defiant video released after he shared the news of the latest charges, Mr Trump repeatedly declared his innocence and framed the indictment as a form of election interference by a Justice Department “weaponised” by the Biden administration.

“They come after me because now we’re leading in the polls again by a lot against Biden,” Mr Trump said in the clip.

“Our country is going to hell and they come after Donald Trump … We can’t let this continue.”

Fellow Republicans swiftly stood by him, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.

“Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America. It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him,” Mr McCarthy said in a statement.

“I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rival for the Republican presidential nomination, echoed Mr Trump’s claims of a “weaponised” DOJ, adding on Twitter that he would “excise political bias” if elected president.

Special counsel Jack Smith, named by US Attorney-General Merrick Garland, has been looking into a cache of classified documents that Mr Trump had stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after leaving the White House.

The FBI carted away some 11,000 papers after serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August, and obstruction-of-justice charges could be a result of his resisting efforts to recover the trove.

Trump eventually turned over 15 boxes containing almost 200 classified documents to the National Archives in January 2022 but was subpoenaed for any outstanding records in his possession.

The White House said it learned of the indictment from media coverage and a spokesman declined to comment on the news, noting that the DOJ “conducts its criminal investigations independently,” CNN reported.

Some Democratic politicians spoke out following Thursday’s revelation.

Mr Trump’s indictment “is another affirmation of the rule of law,” House Democrat Adam Schiff said.

“For four years, he acted like he was above the law,” he added.

“But he should be treated like any other law-breaker. And today, he has been.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the documents case, telling a Fox News town hall event on June 1 that “everything I did was right.”

But he has openly acknowledged taking and storing the documents, undermining his lawyers’ suggestion that he took the stash inadvertently in the confusion of a chaotic departure.

“This evidence just adds to the mound of stuff that already exists, and no one piece is the ‘be all and end all,’ but when you put them all together, the case is so strong,” former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks told MSNBC.

“You cannot imagine his getting away with this.”

– with AFP.