Earlier this month, the Department of Justice indicted former President Trump over his handling of classified documents, charging him with "felony violations of our national security laws" and "participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice," according to Special Counsel Jack Smith.
While Republican presidential candidates have, for the most part, denounced the weaponization of the Department of Justice, they have been far more diverse in their responses to questions about the possibility of pardoning the 45th president.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) on Sunday said he wouldn't respond to hypotheticals.
"I'm not going to deal with the hypotheticals, but I will say that every American is innocent until proven guilty," Scott said during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, has been very outspoken about pardoning Trump if elected, even urging other GOP contenders to do the same in a letter sent last week.
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"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.
Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said if Trump were convicted on federal charges in the latest documents case, she would be "inclined" to pardon him, noting the issue is "less about guilt and more about what's good for the country." Still, she noted the conversation is "premature."
"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 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," Haley added.
Conservative radio host Larry Elder said if he became president, he would be "very likely" to pardon Trump if he's convicted.
Like Scott, former Vice President Mike Pence also indicated he didn't "want to speak about hypotheticals," since the legal proceedings have not played out yet.
"Let me say first and foremost, I don't know why some of my competitors in the Republican primary presume the president will be found guilty," he told NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press."
"Look, all we know is what the president has been accused of in the indictment. We don't know what his defense is. We don't know if this will even go to trial. It could be subject to a motion to dismiss. We don't know what the verdict will be of the jury," Pence added.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who argued the DOJ has a "very good case," said doing so would be "a misuse of the pardon power and should have no place in a campaign or a serious discussion of the office of president."
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Fox News's Brian Kilmeade "it's impossible" to say whether he would pardon Trump if elected.
"Remember, the pardon power is the power to say if you, if somebody thinks someone's been treated unfairly, if you think there's not been a fair trial, you have to consider all those things. I can't imagine if he gets a fair trial that I would pardon him. I can't imagine that I would remember. The other problem, to accept a pardon, you have to admit your guilt. To accept a pardon, you have to say, yes, I was wrong and I accept the pardon. I can't imagine Donald Trump would ever do that."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, if elected, he would consider pardoning victims of "political targeting."
"On day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, who people are victims of weaponization or political targeting and we will be aggressive at issuing pardons," DeSantis told Clay Travis, who pressed for clarification on who that would apply to, "from a grandma who got arrested and prosecuted too much all the way up to, potentially, Trump himself."
"I would say any example of disfavored treatment based on politics or weaponization would be included in that review, no matter how small or how big," DeSantis replied.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez hinted that he would be open to issuing a pardon of Trump if elected.
"Certainly if I became president, one thing I would look at as president is using the pardon power to heal the country," he said. "And that by the way doesn't go for one party, it goes for both parties," he told MSNBC.
So far, GOP voters are standing with the former president. In a recent poll, 83 percent of Republicans said they support him amid his legal troubles.
"Time will tell if this pattern holds, but for now, Republicans are grounded on where they stand on Trump regardless of these unfolding events," Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said about the results.
