House Republican To Trump: 'If You're Innocent, Start Acting Like It'

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) slammed Donald Trump for attacking the criminal justice system, telling the former president “if you’re innocent, start acting like it.”

The Colorado Republican appeared on CNN Thursday evening to discuss Trump’s legal predicament and the 2024 presidential race.

Trump has continually attacked those involved in his four felony indictments. Many have since been targeted by violent rhetoric and threats. In Georgia, authorities are investigating threats against grand jurors who voted to indict Trump and 18 others in a racketeering case over their push to overturn the 2020 election.

Buck, a lawyer, said the threats against grand jurors, “who are just doing their civic duty, showing up and doing their job as Americans, is despicable.”

“And if you’re innocent, start acting like it,” he continued. “I can’t think of anything worse than trying to attack the criminal justice system because you’re a criminal defendant, and I think that’s just terrible of any defendant to go through that process.”

Buck, who voted against impeaching Trump for the Jan. 6 insurrection, earlier this week criticized the Georgia indictment as going too far, likening it to “a nuclear bomb, where a bullet would have been appropriate.” He also called Trump’s four indictments a “targeted piling on.”

On CNN, he expressed optimism that “the Republican Party will survive this,” touting the GOP’s “strong message when it comes to running against Joe Biden’s record.”

“And I think that other candidates are going to be able to step up and really assume that mantle,” Buck added, citing former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Trump leads DeSantis, his nearest rival for the Republican nomination, by nearly 40 points in polls, according to RealClearPolitics.

Watch the interview below.