Pro-Trump Lawmaker Mike Turner Dubs Former President's Handling Of Mar-A-Lago Documents 'Grave Concern'

On Sunday, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed his inability to defend former President Donald Trump’s behavior as outlined in the federal charges against him and his handling of classified documents, while insisting that prosecutors will have to “prove” if he truly violated the law, HuffPost reports.

What Happened: During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Turner, who has repeatedly defended Trump over the past year, expressed his concerns about the classified documents that federal authorities seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. The investigation into Trump’s mishandling of these documents led to his arrest and arraignment last week.

“You care about national security. When you saw the insecure way those documents were stored at Mar-a-Lago, did it make your stomach churn?” asked CNN anchor Jake Tapper. “Well, it’s certainly of grave concern,” Turner replied.

Turner explained that he and leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees reviewed the documents that Trump and Biden each respectively held on to. “Both of them included details of national security issues that should not have been outside of a controlled environment,” Turner added.

Why It Matters: This development comes amidst a series of controversies surrounding Trump’s indictment and his handling of classified documents. As previously reported by Benzinga, key GOP figures have been grappling with the implications of Trump’s indictment and the subsequent fallout.

Trump’s campaign has managed to raise $6.6 million since the indictment, labeling the prosecutor as “deranged,” as per another Benzinga report. However, the mishandling of classified documents and the subsequent indictment have raised serious questions about national security and the conduct of high-ranking officials.

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