It’s time to confront some hard truths. As a conservative, I value truth, even when it’s inconvenient. Here’s the truth: Donald Trump mishandled highly sensitive, classified information and lied to the public about his authority to do so. This conversation is not something I enjoy, considering he held the position of president. However, the recent indictment against him has left me outraged.

It appears that what the former president did was not just careless but criminal. He stored hundreds of highly sensitive documents that can pose a grave threat to national security if disclosed at Mar-a-Lago with complete carelessness. These documents, containing information on matters as serious as our defense capabilities, nuclear programs and potential vulnerabilities, were allegedly found in the most inappropriate of places — from ballrooms to bathrooms. His discretion, or lack thereof, in disclosing these documents, purportedly even showing them to unauthorized individuals while stating to them he had no authority to do so, is extremely concerning.

Adding to the puzzle, Trump’s alleged measures to keep these documents out of sight defy belief, even purportedly instructing his staff to hide them before federal agents could execute a search. His resistance to surrender the documents, even under a grand jury subpoena, adds to the list of allegations. There is even an accusation that he was not entirely truthful with his own lawyers about his possession of the documents.

The question naturally arises: Why did Trump retain these documents? It seems unlikely that he intended to engage in illicit activities such as selling them to foreign entities. My guess is either an attempt to keep himself in the news with further controversy, or to retain keepsakes from his time in office.

For conservatives, it is crucial to understand that party membership or political ideology should not entail unqualified loyalty. The danger of unwavering partisanship is evident in the ongoing fragmentation we observe on the left, where mainstream positions are veering further and further into the extremes. Conservative values hinge on principles such as integrity, rule of law, and patriotism. This requires us to hold our leaders to account when they compromise the security of our nation, irrespective of shared ideologies.

Trump now faces a raft of charges, including 31 related to his willful retention of national defense information, and several related to obstruction of justice, tampering with grand jury evidence and more. While these accusations potentially carry significant sentences (for instance, each classified document charge could lead to a decade in prison), historical precedents suggest that, if convicted, these sentences would likely run concurrently rather than consecutively. Given that Trump was president, and intent could possibly mitigate the charges, he may serve even less time than previous cases with similar charges. For example, a far more severe case where a person collected a trove of highly sensitive documents over nearly 20 years resulted in only nine years in prison.

Of course, another conservative principle is the presumption of innocence, something that the left has long forgotten about. Yet, we can’t turn a blind eye to these allegations. The special counsel possesses far more information than the public, and it’s improbable they would fabricate allegations in such a consequential case.

Let me be crystal clear on this point: Accountability and justice are non-partisan. Your political affiliations, whether Republican, Democrat, Independent or otherwise, are irrelevant. If you’ve pledged to serve our country, a lawful standard of conduct must be upheld.

This is why there is a growing sense of frustration among conservatives who perceive a double standard in our justice system, clearly favoring Democrats over Republicans. Republicans are understandably angered by the lack of accountability for figures who brazenly flout the law like Hunter Biden or Hillary Clinton. It’s no wonder that, following the public announcement of the indictment, Trump’s favorability rating among Republicans rose dramatically.

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So yes, that means if it’s found that President Joe Biden, or any other high-ranking elected official, has committed a crime worthy of criminal charges, then they should absolutely be charged and held accountable for their actions. That said, these charges against Trump should not invite a cascade of trivial, low-level criminal charges against top-ranking officials, but should reinforce the message that even those at the apex of power must not be reckless with our nation’s secrets or disregard our criminal laws.

At the end of the day, it’s not about red or blue; it’s about the red, white and blue. It’s about our shared commitment to this great nation, to our Constitution and to the principles that make this country the greatest nation on Earth. We must rise above our partisan interests and remember that our loyalty lies with our country. The United States of America is more significant than any one person or any one party. That’s what being a conservative means to me, and that’s what being an American should mean to all of us.

Armstrong Williams is a conservative syndicated columnist.