Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slammed Donald Trump on Tuesday over the former president’s claim that he was “very busy” and did not have time to sort through boxes at Mar-a-Lago that contained classified documents and personal items.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that he did not return classified materials because he “wanted to go through the boxes and get all of my personal things out.”
“Does anybody in America believe this?” Christie asked during an interview with CBS News.
“When you think about how many days of golf he’s played since he left office, maybe he could have skipped a couple of rounds of golf and gone through the boxes to respond to a subpoena from a grand jury,” Christie said.
Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month on charges related to the recovery of classified documents by federal investigators more than a year after Trump left the White House. He pleaded not guilty to 37 counts in Miami federal court on June 13. The trial in the case is expected to begin as soon as Aug. 14.
“The problem for Donald Trump in all of this is his own conduct,” Christie said. “He’s his own worst enemy. None of this would have happened to him or to the country, if he had just returned the documents.”
Christie, who is running for the 2024 Republican nomination, has made attacking Trump a main campaign strategy during the first weeks of his White House bid.
Christie also took aim at Trump’s claims that some of the classified documents he allegedly showed guests at Mar-a-Lago were newspaper articles and not, in fact, government secrets.
“I’ve never heard about a newspaper article being declassified,” Christie said. “I think he knows he’s in trouble.”
As a former federal prosecutor, Christie said he believes Trump admitted to obstruction of justice during his interview on Fox News.
“His lawyers this morning are jumping out of whatever window they’re near,” Christie added.
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