Washington, Sep 4 (IANS): Indian-origin tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is seeking a Republican nomination for the 2024 US presidential election, said the Espionage Act under which former President Donald Trump has been charged is "the most un-American statute" in the history of the US.
The 38-year-old who has vowed to pardon Trump if elected to power in 2024, told ABC News that "there is a difference between a bad judgment and a crime".
“The Presidential Records Act was nowhere mentioned in that 49-page indictment in the documents case. I think the Espionage Act under which Trump was charged is the most un-American statute in our history,” Ramaswamy said.
"Would I have done the same and held onto those documents? No, I would not have. Do I think it is an illegal behavior under the Presidential Records Act and other statutes? No, I do not."
Trump has been charged with 37 violations of the US Espionage Act, an anti-spy law enacted by Congress shortly after the start of World War One.
Of these, 31 relate to secret or top secret classified documents.
He is also charged with obstructing justice, conspiracy, concealment and false statements, and has pleaded not guilty.
Polling second among Republican presidential candidates in some recent national polls, Ramaswamy said he is not in favour of the Republican front-runner being forced out of the race in the face of four indictments against him.
He said that instead of pursuing a “vengeance-driven prosecution”, the country should focus on “moving forward”.
Ramaswamy, who has heaped praises on fellow Republican rival Trump throughout his campaign, had said that the two have policy differences "but they are small".
The political outsider deemed Trump the "best president of the 21st century", on the Milwaukee Republican debate stage last month.
Meanwhile, Trump is mulling over skipping his appearance in the Fulton County Court at Atlanta on September 6, and instead permit his attorney to enter his plea in writing.
The Republican frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary has been indicted in four criminal cases -- two by the Justice Department, and two by state prosecutors in New York and Georgia, separately.
He has criticised the cases against him as part of a politically motivated attempt to keep him from recapturing the White House.