Former President Donald Trump has a "moral responsibility" for what unfolded at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but it will remain up to the Justice Department to determine if he's legally responsible as well, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is campaigning against Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, said Sunday.
"The question is whether there is a criminal responsibility, and that's a judgment that the Department of Justice is going to have to make," Hutchinson, also a former U.S. attorney, told NBC's "Meet the Press."
His comments came while he was discussing the convictions of four members of the Proud Boys, including their former leader, in connection with a plot to attack the Capitol to keep Trump in power.
The cases were "difficult" to make, as there was a "high bar" to prove, and the federal attorneys were successful, said Hutchinson, and the verdicts reflect the "seriousness of the offense of Jan. 6, and undermining our democracy."
As for what happens with Trump, though, Hutchinson said he thinks the answer will lie in the ballot box, "not what happens in the courtroom."
Meanwhile, Trump is at the top of all current polls, but when asked why voters think he is the best candidate, Hutchinson responded that Trump's numbers have gone up "because he's played the victim" in prosecutions against him, particularly in the New York case involving Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
"You look back to the true numbers, which is after the last midterm elections, and his numbers were down," said Hutchinson. "He was responsible for a lot of the failure in growth that we expected and wins in a number of different states, and so his numbers were down."
He added that he jokes sometimes that Bragg is Trump's "campaign manager" because his indictment caused Trump's numbers to go up, not down.
"This will settle out over time, and so let's judge it, understanding that we're early in the campaign," said Hutchinson. "We've got a lot of room to grow."
Hutchinson also said he fully expects to be on the GOP primary debate stage this year, and as for supporting the eventual nominee, even if it's Trump, "we're still looking at what is required for that in terms of the pledge."
Still, he told show host Chuck Todd that all the candidates who will be participating in the debate are sure they'll be the eventual nominee.
"We're not sure whether Donald Trump's going to be there or not," said Hutchinson of the former president, who has said he may opt out of some of the debates out of questions of fair treatment.
But Hutchinson said he expects Trump will show up for the debates, as "he'll drop in the polls" and ultimately participate.
"It's important for the American public to hear — particularly the Republican voters — to hear what the candidates say about the future, their ideas for it, and to engage in that debate and defend their positions," said Hutchinson. "That's what the expectation is. And I think everybody has an obligation to participate in that."
Hutchinson, meanwhile, said he is presenting a candidacy that looks to the future and that stresses his background in not only government but law enforcement.
"I presented the idea, the plan to reduce state, federal civilian employment by 10%," he said. "I can do that because we reduced it by 14% in Arkansas… it's not about the past. It's about the future, and I think that resonates."
And even though there are voters who like the way Trump fights, Hutchinson said it's important to convince them "that you're going to fight for them."
"They also want somebody that can win," he said, adding there "we do not want to have a repeat of 2020" with a race between Trump and President Joe Biden.
"We want something different that we can win, and that's the case that we make," he said.