前总统唐纳德·特朗普的涉嫌不当处理机密文件受到了他政府中一些高级官员的谴责。
前司法部长比尔·巴尔和前国防部长马克·埃斯珀在周日节目中露面时，将川普的行为描述为粗心大意，不符合政治领导人的身份。
“在这种情况下，他不是受害者，也不是政府越权，”巴尔告诉记者哥伦比亚广播公司“面向全国”主持人罗伯特·科斯塔。
“他自己挑起了整个问题，”巴尔继续说道。“是的，他在过去是不公平的政治迫害的受害者，但这并不能排除这样一个事实，即他也是一个有根本缺陷的人，他的鲁莽行为导致了一些情况，灾难性的情况，就像这样，这些情况非常具有破坏性，并伤害了他所参与的任何政治事业。”
当被问及如果再次当选，他是否会将国家置于“风险”时，巴尔说，他将“永远把自己的利益和满足自己的自我置于其他一切之上，包括国家的利益。”
“这是毫无疑问的，”前司法部长说。“这是一个完美的例子。”
特朗普面临37项重罪指控，因为他被指控故意保留包含有关国家核计划等敏感国防信息的文件，然后试图阻挠调查人员检索这些文件。
6月13日，他在迈阿密的法庭上不认罪。特朗普否认了所有不当行为，声称调查是一项政治起诉无情地攻击特别检察官杰克·史密斯.
许多共和党人认为特朗普受到了不公平的待遇但其他人批评他的行为有问题。
在美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)的“国情咨文”节目中，斯珀称起诉书披露的内容“令人不安”，并概述了机密信息处理不当会带来的安全风险。他还将特朗普的情况比作杰克·特谢拉马萨诸塞州空军国民警卫队的一名年轻成员被指控在网上泄露敏感文件。
当被问及如果特朗普在2024年再次当选总统，他是否应该信任美国的最高机密时，斯珀说，如果特别顾问的调查指控属实，他不会信任特朗普。
“根据他的行为，再次，如果根据特别检察官的起诉书证明属实，没有，”斯珀告诉CNN的杰克·塔珀。
“我的意思是，这只是不负责任的行为，将我们的服务人员置于危险之中，将我们国家的安全置于危险之中，”斯珀说。“你不能让这些文件到处流传。它们需要得到保护。”
2023年5月29日，前国防部长马克·埃斯珀在布拉迪斯拉发参加GLOBSEC的2023布拉迪斯拉发论坛。
迈克尔·西泽克/法新社
巴尔在2020年大选后卸任前担任了大约两年的司法部长，此前他与特朗普就其毫无根据的选民欺诈指控发生了纠纷。在特朗普宣布于2020年秋季解雇他之前，斯珀任职了一年多一点。
两人都对前总统持批评态度，都写了自己为他工作的经历。特朗普在他的真实社交平台上批评了这两个人，尽管他没有直接回应他们的最新声明。
正在挑战川普共和党提名的前总统迈克·彭斯最近坚定了他的立场控告他的前任老板。
彭斯上周表示，他“无法为49页起诉书中的指控辩护”。
彭斯说:“这里所指控的事情发生的可能性——创造了一个高度敏感的机密材料可能落入坏人手中的机会，即使是无意中——这危及我们的国家安全，并使我们武装部队的男男女女处于危险之中。”。
Bill Barr, Mark Esper blast Trump's conduct in classified documents case
Former President Donald Trump'salleged mishandling of classified documentsis being denounced by some of the top brass in his administration.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, during appearances on the Sunday shows, painted Trump's behavior as careless and unbefitting a political leader.
"This is not a circumstance where he's the victim or this is government overreach," Barr toldCBS "Face the Nation"host Robert Costa.
"He provoked this whole problem himself," Barr continued. "Yes, he's been the victim of unfair witch hunts in the past, but that doesn't obviate the fact that he's also a fundamentally flawed person who engages in reckless conduct that leads to situations, calamitous situations, like this, which are very disruptive and hurt any political cause he's associated with."
Barr, when asked if he'd put the country "at risk" if reelected, said he will "always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country's interests."
"There's no question about it," the former attorney general said. "This is a perfect example of that."
Trump faces 37 felony counts as he's accused of willfully retaining documents containing sensitive defense information regarding the nation's nuclear programs and more, then tried to obstruct investigators trying to retrieve them.
He pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom on June 13.Trump has denied all wrongdoing, claiming the investigation is a political prosecution andrelentlessly attacking special counsel Jack Smith.
Many Republicans haveargued Trump's been unfairly treatedby a "weaponized" Department of Justice, but others have criticized his conduct as problematic.
On CNN's "State of the Union," Esper called the indictment's revelations "disturbing" and outlined the security risks that unfold when classified information is mishandled. He also compared Trump's case tothat of Jack Teixeira, a young member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard accused of leaking sensitive documents online.
Asked if Trump should be trusted with the nation's top secrets if elected president again in 2024, Esper said not if what the special counsel's investigation has alleged is true.
"Based on his actions, again, if proven true under the indictment by the special counsel, no," Espertold CNN's Jake Tapper.
"I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk," Esper said. "You cannot have these documents floating around. They need to be secured."
Barr served for roughly two years as attorney general before stepping down after the 2020 election following disputes with Trump over his unfounded allegations of voter fraud. Esper served for little more than a year before Trump announced he fired him in the fall of 2020.
Both men have turned critical of the former president, each penning books about their experiences working for him. Trump has taken to criticizing both men on his Truth Social platform, though he hasn't responded directly to their latest statements.
Former President Mike Pence, who is challenging Trump for the Republican nomination, has recentlytoughened his stanceagainst his one-time boss over the federal indictment.
Pence said last week he "cannot defend" what's alleged in the 49-page indictment.
"The very prospect that what is alleged here took place -- creating an opportunity where highly sensitive classified material could have fallen into the wrong hands, even inadvertently -- that jeopardizes our national security [and] puts at risk the men and women of our Armed Forces," Pence said.
