LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton voiced his disappointment on Friday after former President Donald Trump was indicted for mishandling classified documents.
Cotton spoke on how he felt the indictment against Trump has been handled by justice officials, comparing it to the investigation into how Hilary Clinton's emails was handled in 2015. He feels it's being called in an "uneven" manner.
"I'm disappointed to see the indictment of the former president [and] I think there's an uneven application of justice if you compare the case of President Trump with Hilary Clinton from 2015 in her emails," Cotton said. "[I think] the FBI applied different standards."
Despite this, Cotton shared that he thinks the mishandling of classified documents is always a bad thing no matter the party that the politician aligns with.
"I don't think it's ever good, I think it's especially worrisome when you're talking about one of the two major parties' leading candidates for office," Cotton said. "I don't think you should proceed with legal charges [...] I don't think it's healthy for our body of politics."
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges that he faces in relation to the alleged illegal storage of classified documents.
The charges against the former president include obstructing justice, retaining classified information, and making false statements. Trump is also facing other charges.
Many of the charges against Trump fall under the Espionage Act, which accuse him of storing the classified documents in areas like his bedroom, bathroom, and even his shower, among other locations.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland selected Jack Smith to lead investigations into the classified documents at Trump's home in Mar-A-Lago. He also lead probes into the Jan. 6 insurrection and the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Smith served as a veteran war crimes prosecutor and has a background in public corruption probes. He filed the charges against Trump and shared that he will treat the former president like anyone else.
"[The United States] has one set of laws and they apply to everyone," Smith said.
Cotton isn't the first Arkansas politician to react to the news of Trump's indictment, with former Arkansas governor and current U.S. presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson speaking out against Trump.
"With the news that Donald Trump has been indicted for the second time, our country finds itself in a position that weakens our democracy," Hutchinson said. "This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign."
The reactions to Trump's indictment continued, with Hutchinson's successor Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders defending Trump and saying that the charges are being "weaponized" against him.
"The Biden Administration is weaponizing the DOJ to go after their number one opponent. It’s a two-tiered system of justice aimed directly at Donald Trump and conservatives. The American people should choose our next President, not politicized prosecutors hand-picked by Joe Biden," Gov. Sanders said.