Special counsel Jack Smith invoked the report from Robert Hur’s investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified material to argue against claims that former President Trump is facing selective prosecution.
Hur was appointed as special counsel to review the matter and determined Biden’s actions were against procedure but not criminal.
Smith cited differences between the two cases, noting Trump is alleged to have extensively obstructed justice regarding documents, while evidence shows their intent was “starkly different.”
Specifically, Hur concluded Biden did not knowingly or willfully retain classified documents due to his age and memory issues.
By contrast, Smith argued Trump’s violations were intentional and he shared classified information with unauthorized people.
“Most notably, 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, as reflected in the Hur Report’s conclusion,” the filing read.
Smith said Trump failed to identify a comparable case where someone was not prosecuted after such “willful and deceitful criminal conduct.”
“The defendants have not identified anyone who has engaged in a remotely similar suite of willful and deceitful criminal conduct and not been prosecuted. Nor could they,” Smith wrote. “Indeed, the comparators on which they rely are readily distinguishable.”
