Former U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a campaign rally at Legacy Sports USA on October 9, 2022, in Mesa, Arizona. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton made an appearance at an event in Toronto, Ontario on September 10, 2022 (Trump by Mario Tama/Getty Images; Clinton by Amy Sussman/Getty Images).
The prosecutor in charge of the federal government’s case against Donald Trump for keeping classified documents at his Florida resort home filed several court documents on Thursday to prevent the dismissal of the criminal charges against the former president.
According to special counsel Jack Smith, Trump’s actions of knowingly taking classified national security documents from the White House are not only brazen but also unlawful. He argues that this is even more egregious than other political figures, such as Hillary Clinton, who were involved in scandals related to mishandling classified information.
In the opposition brief, it is argued against Trump’s claim that he is a victim of “selective and vindictive prosecution.” The brief counters Trump’s assertion that he is being treated worse than other individuals like Clinton, President Joe Biden, James Comey, and Mike Pence. It specifically highlights Trump’s refusal to return the classified documents he had in his possession for several months.
According to Smith, the cases may bear some resemblance to Trump’s case, but they are not alleged to involve the intentional retention of a large amount of sensitive and confidential materials, repeated attempts to prevent their lawful return, or engagement in a complex scheme of deception and obstruction.
According to Smith, the crucial distinction in Trump’s case lies in the fact that he was fully aware of and intentionally held onto the classified documents, even after receiving instructions to surrender them.
His conduct stands out from numerous former government officials who, either inadvertently or carelessly, held onto classified documents beyond their time in office and only returned them when they were discovered.
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According to Smith, Trump’s actions surpassed those of his counterparts for several reasons. The special counsel asserts that the former president employed tactics of delay and obfuscation to keep hold of classified documents. Moreover, Trump deceptively returned only a portion of the documents, initially concealing the fact that he had taken over 100 documents with classified markings.
According to Smith, instead of just complying with the subpoena, he devised a plan to obstruct the criminal investigation and the ongoing effort to recover the documents. The scheme involved attempting to involve his own lawyer in the corrupt endeavor, urging the attorney to provide false information to the FBI and grand jury by claiming that Trump did not possess any documents. Additionally, he suggested that his lawyer hide or destroy the documents rather than turning them over to the government.
In his attempt to have the case against him dismissed, Trump drew a parallel between his situation and that of his former presidential rival, Hillary Clinton. During the 2016 election, Trump and his supporters famously targeted Clinton with “Lock her up” chants for storing classified information on her private server.
According to Smith, prosecutors thoroughly examined Hillary Clinton’s actions using five different criminal statutes. After careful analysis, they ultimately determined that there was no sufficient basis to prosecute the former secretary of state.
In a footnote, Smith cleverly turned Trump’s own words against him, highlighting the former president’s apparent disregard for classified documents.
During his 2016 campaign, Trump advocated for pressing charges against Clinton for her actions, highlighting the importance of understanding the significance of confidential and classified information. He made a firm commitment to enforcing all laws pertaining to the protection of classified information, emphasizing that no individual would be exempt from the law in his administration.
According to recent filings, Smith has refuted Trump’s assertions that he is immune from prosecution under the Presidential Records Act. Smith emphasized that Trump was not involved in the creation of the classified intelligence documents and therefore cannot claim them as “personal.”