One of the loudest anti-Trump voices in Republican politics, former presidential candidate and Utah Senator Mitt Romney, has defended Donald Trump against his indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney on Tuesday, arguing it creates a “dangerous precedent” for political trials.

In a statement, Romney accused the New York District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, of having “stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda.”

Romney wrote:

I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office. Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda. No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.

The charges and evidence will be duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality. The American voters will ultimately render their own judgment on the former President’s political future. Finally, it is also incumbent on all elected leaders to discourage violence and anger in response to this situation.

Romney has become an unpopular figure among grassroots conservatives in recent years over his vociferous criticism of the former president and his record in office.

In February 2021, Romney voted to impeach Trump over the protests on January 6th, accusing him of having “incited the insurrection against Congress by using the power of his office to summon his supporters to Washington on January 6th and urging them to march on the Capitol during the counting of electoral votes.”

“He did this despite the obvious and well-known threats of violence that day,” he wrote at the time. “President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the Vice President, and others in the Capitol.”

The 76-year-old is among various anti-Trump figures to criticize the indictment. Among those is Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who similarly suggested that the justice system may be biased against the former president.

“It’s just a very, very sad day for America,” said Manchin. “Especially when people are maybe believing that the rule of law or justice is not working the way it’s supposed to and it’s biased — we can’t have that.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters that the indictment was a result of a “thorough investigation” by his office into Trump’s personal affairs.

“This is the business capital of the world,” Bragg said about New York City. “We regularly do cases involving false business statements. The bedrock of the basis for business integrity and a well-functioning business marketplace is accurate record-keeping.”

In the indictment, prosecutors claim Trump “orchestrated” a scheme to keep potentially damaging stories from leaking to the press.

“During the [2016] election, TRUMP and others employed a ‘catch and kill’ scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects”, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a news release along with the indictment. “TRUMP then went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”

“In total, 34 false entries were made in New York business records to conceal the initial covert $130,000 payment,” it continues. “Further, participants in the scheme took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the reimbursements.”

In a speech following his arraignment, Trump described the case as “election interference” and insisted that “the only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”

“This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately,” he said. “This is where we are right now. I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris. With all of this being said and with a very dark cloud over our beloved country, I have no doubt that we will make America great again.”