Former President Donald Trump has recently come under fire from some of those previously served in his administration, including one-time Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

During a Sunday appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Esper suggested that Trump's re-election could lead to a national security emergency.

Esper accused Trump of placing "our service members at risk"

Host Jake Tapper pointed to Trump's indictment last week on charges related to his handling of classified material and then asked if the former president could ever again be trusted with America's secrets.

Esper was unequivocal in his response, telling Tapper, "Based on his actions – again, if proven true – under the indictment by the special counsel, no."

"It’s just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nationals security risk. You cannot have these documents floating around. They need to be secured," he insisted.

"Imagine if a foreign agent, another country were to discover documents that outline America’s vulnerabilities or the weaknesses of the United States military," the former defense secretary continued.

"Think about how that could be exploited, how that could be used against us in a conflict, how an enemy could develop countermeasures, things like that," Esper went on.

Esper had little say about President Biden's handling of documents

"Or in the case of the most significant piece that was raised in the allegation about U.S. plans to attack Iran, think about how that affects our readiness, our ability to prosecute an attack," he added.

Interestingly, Esper had little to say about revelations that President Joe Biden kept classified documents in his office at the Penn Biden Center or in the garage of his home in Delaware.

Biden defended his decision to keep classified material next to his Corvette during an exchange in January with Fox News' White House correspondent Peter Doocy, saying, "My Corvette’s in a locked garage, ok? So it’s not like it’s sitting out in the street."

Fox News’ Peter Doocy: “Classified material next to your Corvette? What were you thinking?”

President Biden: “My Corvette’s in a locked garage, ok? So it’s not like it’s sitting out in the street.” pic.twitter.com/bYwscvPeEO

— The Recount (@therecount) January 12, 2023

Hunter Biden spent time at house where material was stored

What's more, Fox News reported in January that the president's son, Hunter Biden, spent time at his father's home while the documents were present.

This included quarantining at the house in 2020 as well as going there in November of that year to watch election results come in.

Information obtained from Hunter Biden's laptop revealed that he had extensive ties with foreign nationals, including ones connected to the Chinese Communist Party.