LEE KRAMER'S ROOM: With Views

[blackcat]

The first crack - will others follow?



By Zach Montellaro

06/14/2023 02:14 PM EDT

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he would not vote for Donald Trump should he end up the Republican nominee and be convicted in a criminal trial.

The declaration is one of the strongest rebukes of Trump since he was indicted on 37 counts related to allegedly mishandling classified documents. It also underscores the difficult position in which the Republican party now finds itself: with the party’s base rallying behind a frontrunner facing possible jail time and another portion of the party threatening to bolt if he’s their candidate.

In an interview Wednesday with a group of POLITICO reporters, Hutchinson presented himself as an experienced alternative to the rest of the Republican field and framed his longshot presidential candidacy as one that took fidelity to the law seriously.

“I’m not going to vote for him if he’s a convicted felon,” he said. “If he’s convicted of espionage, I’m not going to vote for him.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/14/asa-hutchinson-trump-indictment-00101971