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Lutting wrote in the New York Times that the Republican Party is
in part to blame for the former president's federal indictment
earlier this month accusing Trump of mishandling classified
documents. There are few signs that Trump will face political
consequences internally, which undermines rule of law and
threatens the future of the party, Luttig said.
"Building the Republican campaign around the newly indicted
front-runner is a colossal political miscalculation, as comedic
as it is tragic for the country," said Luttig, an appointee of
Republican President George H.W. Bush who served from 1991 to
2006.
"No assemblage of politicians except the Republicans would ever
conceive of running for the American presidency by running
against the Constitution and the rule of law. But that’s exactly
what they’re planning."
Luttig served as an informal adviser to Trump's vice president,
Mike Pence, and gave testimony a year ago to the congressional
committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.
Capitol.
Since federal prosecutors unsealed a 37-count indictment against
Trump earlier this month, most candidates in the crowded
Republican primary field have come to his defense. Some have
said as president they would pardon Trump, should he be
convicted in the case.
Polling shows Trump holding a strong lead over his Republican
rivals.
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Editing by Scott Malone and Chizu
Nomiyama)
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