Jack Smith filing: Hur report proves Trump’s handling of docs 'more aggravated' than Biden’s

26 February 2024

Two weeks after special counsel Robert Hur released a report finding no need to file criminal charges against President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents, special counsel Jack Smith is taking advantage of Hur's discoveries — by using them for Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

Politico's Kyle Cheney reports via X (formerly Twitter), "JUST IN: Jack Smith cites the Hur Report to argue that Trump's handling of classified docs was significantly more aggravated/willful than Joe Biden's."

Smith's move comes three days after Trump asked a federal judge to dismiss the case entirely, citing presidential immunity, according to NBC News.

In his Monday, February 26 filing, Smith writes, "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. Indeed, the comparators on which they rely are readily distinguishable. For example, their primary comparator is Joseph R. Biden, whose conduct is described in the recently issued Report of the Special Counsel on the Investigation Into Unauthorized Removal, Retention, and Disclosure of Classified Documents Discovered at Locations Including the Penn Biden Center and the Delaware Private Residence of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., by Special Counsel Robert K. Hur ('Hur Report')."

He continues, "But as the Hur Report itself recognizes, 'several material distinctions between Mr. Trump’s case and Mr. Biden’s are clear.' 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 that 'the evidence falls short of establishing Mr. Biden’s willful retention of the classified Afghanistan documents beyond a reasonable doubt.' ('Unlike the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment of Mr. Trump, if proven, would clearly establish not only Mr. Trump’s willfulness but also serious aggravating facts.'). The defendants’ request for discovery on a selective prosecution theory can be denied on this basis alone."

Read Smith's filing in full here.

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