Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Tuesday she’d be “inclined in favor of a pardon” for former president Donald Trump if he were convicted on federal charges in the classified documents case, saying the issue is “less about guilt and more about what’s good for the country.”
“And I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case,” Haley said during an appearance on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. “That’s something you’ve seen in a third world country. I saw that at the United Nations. So I would be inclined in favor of a pardon. But I think it’s really premature at this point when he’s not even been convicted of anything.”
Trump is facing 37 counts as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents, including willful retention of national-defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and making false statements and representations.
The indictment includes evidence that Trump knew he had possession of “secret” and “highly confidential” documents that he had not declassified. Trump allegedly had dozens of boxes at his Mar-a-Lago residence that held materials including documents about the defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries, U.S. nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the U.S. and its allies, and plans for a possible retaliation in case of a foreign attack, according to the indictment.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated.
Haley said Tuesday that what is happening is “unfortunate” and that the Justice Department “has handled this whole thing terribly.”
“You can’t have one standard for Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, and then another standard for Republicans like Donald Trump,” she said. “And we’re seeing that again with the Biden bribery recordings that have come to light. I mean, the country should never stand for that. And I think that we should all speak up and we have to be loud about that.”
She continued: “Having said that, if the claims in the indictment are true—if they’re true—then Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security, and that’s not OK. So now if you’ve got the question of a pardon, I mean, that’s a very different question. I’m not going to presume President Trump’s guilt. I think we all need to let this trial play out. We need to see exactly what happened. But when you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt and more about what’s good for the country.”
Haley’s comments come as biotech entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said he sent a letter to every presidential contender on Tuesday urging them to commit to pardoning Trump if he is convicted.
“Each of our paths to electoral success would be easier if President Trump were eliminated from competition, but that is the wrong result for our country. The fact that we are running against Trump gives us credibility to denounce this politicized prosecution,” Ramaswamy wrote.
“I condemn these charges by the U.S. Department of Justice. Below, I have signed a commitment to pardon President Trump promptly on January 20, 2025, for the federal charges … I respectfully request that you join me in this commitment or else publicly explain why you will not,” he added.
Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson took a different approach and called on Trump to drop out of the race.
“Donald Trump’s actions — from his willful disregard for the Constitution to his disrespect for the rule of law – should not define our nation or the Republican Party,” Hutchinson said.
“This is a sad day for our country,” he added. “While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to respect the office and end his campaign.”