Adam Kinzinger's Advice for Trump After Federal Indictment

Former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger passed on a piece of advice to Donald Trump after the former president was indicted for mishandling classified documents.

Trump was being investigated by the Department of Justice for how he handled hundreds of classified documents that he took from the White House when he left office in January 2021. Last August, the FBI recovered classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, months after he was issued a grand jury subpoena in May 2022 that required him to return all documents in his possession that were marked classified.

Trump denied any wrongdoing throughout the course of the probe and claimed that he declassified the documents before taking them from the White House. Special counsel Jack Smith has been appointed by the DOJ to oversee the case.

The former president, who announced his 2024 presidential bid in November, was indicted Thursday night on seven counts. Trump's lawyer Jim Trusty told CNN that his client is facing a charge under the Espionage Act and other charges of conspiracy and false statements, obstruction of justice, and destruction or falsification of records.

"Today, Justice is being served. Nobody is above the law. The former President will get a fair trial. The former President will be held accountable," tweeted Kinzinger, an outspoken critic of Trump. The former congressman advised Trump in another tweet that he "should withdraw from the race in shame."

Trump reacted to the news of his indictment in a series of Truth Social posts on Thursday night, accusing the Biden administration of being "corrupt," maintaining his innocence, and calling it a "dark day" for America. He said that he is scheduled to be arraigned in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday.

"The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax," Trump wrote. "I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States ... I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!"

"This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America," he added. "We are a Country in serious and rapid Decline, but together we will Make America Great Again!"

Newsweek reached out to Trump's media office via email for comment.

An unnamed person familiar with the indictment told the Associated Press that federal prosecutors informed Trump's attorneys shortly before he posted on Truth Social.

Trump is the first president in United States history to be indicted on federal charges. He was also indicted earlier this year by a Manhattan grand jury in an investigation into hush money paid to former adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump was being investigated after it was discovered that $130,000 was paid to Daniels by Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen ahead of the election to keep secret an affair Daniels claims she had with Trump in 2006. Trump denies the affair and continues to assert his innocence.

Some conservatives were outraged by Trump's classified documents indictment, including political commentator and radio host Dan Bongino.

"We live in a police state run by liberal filth. There's absolutely no disputing this fact. The liberal filth running this country right now will burn this place, and its institutions, to the ground to preserve the corrupt garbage running this country. Every Republican candidate for office MUST commit to a thorough house cleaning," Bongino tweeted on Thursday.

Kinzinger shared Bongino's tweet and commented: "Or.... We live in a country that treats people equally."