Nice try, Donald Trump!
It’s time for everyone to stop whining about how the classified documents cases between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump were handled. Special counsel Robert Hur was clear in his report that there was no criminal intent involved in Biden’s retention of documents. Trump’s case is a different story. The distinction came from the proverbial horse’s mouth-no insult intended-special counsel Jack Smith. According to Politico, Smith said Monday that President Biden’s case is not “remotely” like the “deceitful criminal conduct” of Donald Trump.
Trump is trying to claim “selective prosecution” in his case, and he, of course, points to President Biden as an example. Smith’s team filed a response to Trump’s ridiculous theories, and they pointed out that Hur’s report stated why Trump was prosecuted and Biden was not. Smith’s team was as usual succinct and scored valid points. Trump’s team tried to raise new defenses, which Smith’s team addressed. They also pointed out that after they moved to file a sur-reply (a reply to a reply, which requires a judge’s permission to file), Trump filed a motion to dismiss or for discovery based on selective and vindictive prosecution. Smith added that he would be filing a response in opposition to Trump’s motion to dismiss and would address his new claims in that brief. He went on, however, to point out that a “selective” or “vindictive” prosecution claim must meet certain criteria and must contain “clear and convincing evidence,” which we know Trump’s team doesn’t have. Assistant special counsel David Harbach wrote the sur-reply, which included: “The defendants have not identified anyone who has engaged in a remotely similar suite of willful and deceitful criminal conduct and has not been prosecuted. Nor could they. Trump, unlike Biden, is alleged to have engaged in extensive and repeated efforts to obstruct justice and thwart the return of documents bearing classification markings. And the evidence concerning the two men’s intent-whether they knowingly possessed and willfully retained such documents-is also starkly different.”
Hur wrote in his report that President Biden was extremely cooperative in sitting for interviews and complying with everything they asked. Trump, on the other hand, tried to involve his attorney in hiding documents. When that failed, he recruited Nauta and de Olivera to move boxes so that documents couldn’t be found. He then turned in some documents and lied about the rest. Finally, he tried to have the security footage that recorded his concealment deleted. These are not the actions of a man who “innocently” retained classified documents.
If anything, Hur seemed more politically motivated with his assessment of President Biden’s age and memory, both of which were neither necessary nor helpful to his investigation. President Biden’s attorneys informed the DOJ of the documents, and President Biden allowed them to search his home in Delaware. The DOJ and both special counsels did their jobs. One found evidence of a crime, and the other didn’t. It is just that simple. As Smith said in his filing, the two cases are not remotely similar, and the law worked as it should in both cases.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years