Donald Trump blasted by former CIA chief over classified documents in new political ad
Donald Trump “must face consequences" for mishandling classified documents, former Central Intelligence Director Michael Hayden said in a new political ad that’s another indication of the degree to which the former president’s legal troubles will dominate the 2024 campaign. “We don’t know who saw them, but we have to assume those documents were compromised," Hayden says in the one-minute ad, which will begin running Monday in three presidential battleground states. The ad — funded by the Republican Accountability Project — shows photos allegedly depicting classified document folders and boxes stacked up in common areas of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump was indicted last month on 37 felony counts stemming from his alleged handling of the documents. While most of Trump’s Republican rivals have shied away from condemning him — and the indictment hasn’t dented his poll numbers or his fundraising — the ads show that there is a faction of the party that is willing to speak out against the former president. The Republican Accountability Project is putting more than $422,000 behind the new ad in Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin.
It’s the latest salvo in what they say is a $2 million campaign focusing on Trump’s indictments and running primarily on Fox News and CNN. Outside groups are seizing on the court cases to cut attack ads in an attempt to undermine Trump’s standing with Republican voters. Trump now enjoys an average 32-point lead over the rest of the Republican field, and his edge has only grown since the June 13 indictment.
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