Trump calls on DOJ to dismiss his case after 'more severe' Biden case
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Former US President Donald Trump calls on the Department of Justice to drop his case regarding his mishandling of classified records after President Joe Biden Biden was found to be doing the same thing.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate, February 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida (AP)
Former President Donald Trump has demanded the immediate dismissal of his own classified documents case following the Justice Department's decision not to pursue charges against President Joe Biden in connection to his alleged mishandling of classified records.
Trump contends that the divergent outcomes indicate a "two-tiered system of justice" and "unconstitutional selective prosecution."
In a statement released on Thursday, Trump asserted, "The Biden Documents Case is 100 times different and more severe than mine. I did nothing wrong, and I cooperated far more. What Biden did is outrageously criminal."
"He had 50 years of documents, 50 times more than I had, and 'WILLFULLY RETAINED' them. I was covered by the Presidential Records Act, Secret Service was always around, and GSA delivered the documents. Deranged Jack Smith should drop this Case immediately," he continued.
Trump's comments come on the heels of the Justice Department's release of a report on the federal investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents.
Special Counsel Robert Hur, who conducted the investigation, concluded that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials but recommended no criminal charges against him.
Hur clarified that he found no grounds for pursuing criminal charges and suggested that, if brought to trial, Mr. Biden might present himself as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.
The White House, in response to the report, expressed full agreement with Special Counsel Hur's decision not to pursue charges.
The results will probably limit Biden's capacity to criticize Donald Trump—Biden's likely rival in the presidential race in November—vehemently in light of the indictment accusing the former president of unlawfully retaining sensitive documents at his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.
According to CNN, Biden touted his cooperation with Hur's probe, contrasting it with his predecessor's handling of a similar investigation.
"I just believed that’s what I owed the American people so they could know no charges would be brought and the matter closed," Biden said.
Hur observed in his report that there were differences between the cases involving classified documents for Trump and Biden. The National Archives made unsuccessful attempts to retrieve documents in Trump’s possession, leading to the FBI obtaining a search warrant to search his Florida estate at one stage.
In contrast, Biden’s legal team promptly informed the National Archives about the materials discovered in his possession. Although these documents were found on November 2, merely six days before the midterm elections, it was only on November 7 — when news reports surfaced regarding the discovery — that the president’s attorneys publicly acknowledged it.
Double standards?
Trump reported back in August 2022 that his Mar-A-Lago residence in Florida was being "raided" by FBI agents in what he called an act of "prosecutorial misconduct".
The National Archives said in Febrauary of the same year that it had recovered 15 boxes of documents from Trump's Florida estate, which The Washington Post reported included highly classified texts, taken with him when he left Washington following his reelection defeat.
The documents and mementos - which also included correspondence from ex-US President Barack Obama - should by law have been turned over at the end of Trump's presidency but instead ended up at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The recovery of the boxes raised questions about Trump's adherence to presidential records laws enacted after the 1970s Watergate scandal that require Oval Office occupants to preserve records related to administration activity, but this also puts to question that of Joe Biden.
