'Look at the evidence': Former GOP governor shames his party for blindly defending Trump

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Tuesday shamed members of his party who are reflexively coming to the defense of former President Donald Trump in the wake of his indictment by special counsel Jack Smith.

Appearing on CNN, Hogan said that it was wrong for Republicans to leap to Trump's defense in the case before the indictment against the former president was even unsealed.

"These are not just frivolous charges, and it bothers me that some of our Republican leaders are willing to, you know, not even willing to take a look at the evidence," he said. "Obviously, everybody's innocent until proven guilty, but no man is above the law, not even the president of the United States... I understand Republicans being concerned that we're not, you know, that we're not being balanced in our prosecutions and, you know, they can argue about the weaponization of the Justice Department, but we've got to at least take a look at these facts because it's very, very serious and concerning and it deals with national security."

Hogan was then asked what he made of polls showing Republican primary voter support for Trump increased in the wake of the indictment, and he expressed frustration that the GOP base would not simply move on from the former president.

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"I'm very concerned about it," he said. "And, look, I think that's why it's so important... this indictment was really detailed and provided a lot of information because I think they were concerned about looking as if it was political, going after... the leading Republican presidential candidate in the middle of an election."

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