DeKalb Times

Illinois state Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-45th, shared his thoughts on the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Chesney shared a Facebook post, linking a June 9 news release with his statement on the federal charges.

“This is a sad day for America," Chesney said, according to the release. "These are serious charges that President Trump will need to defend. Since it is widely known that a similar investigation is also taking place involving President Biden, I hope Americans can count on an equal level of scrutiny in both investigations.”

Trump was indicted on federal charges related to the discovery of classified information at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. According to Politico, the indictment alleges former President Trump had highly sensitive classified materials focusing on defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign countries, and that he showed documents to others at Mar-a-Lago.

"Trump is facing 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act through 'willful retention' of classified records, plus six counts — including obstruction of justice and false statements — stemming from his alleged efforts to impede the investigation," the Politico report said. "Nauta was also charged with six felonies related to the alleged cover-up."

According to Politico, the investigation is being led by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Trump was also indicted in March as part of the investigation into hush money paid to hide an affair, according to a CNN report. The Manhattan District Attorney has been investigating the former President‘s role in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, and the indictment was unsealed April 4. He is charged with 34 different counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. 

Chesney has been a member of the Illinois General Assembly, first as state representative for the 89th House District, then as senator for the 45th District, since December 2018. He is a small business owner, and a lifelong Illinois resident, according to his bio.