Trump deems Biden special counsel report ‘selective prosecution’
Former President Trump on Thursday deemed it “selective prosecution” after a special counsel report found President Biden “willfully” held onto classified documents but stopped short of any charges.
“THIS HAS NOW PROVEN TO BE A TWO-TIERED SYSTEM OF JUSTICE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL SELECTIVE PROSECUTION!” Trump said in a statement.
Special counsel Robert Hur released a 388-page report Thursday, the culmination of an investigation into how classified documents from Biden’s tenure as vice president ended up at his Delaware home and an old office space.
The former president has tried to link the Biden investigation and his case, after Trump was charged by the Justice Department for his handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that alleged he violated the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in his records handling.
Trump in his statement argued the Biden case is “100 times different and more severe than mine” and claimed he “cooperated far more.”
“Our investigation uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen,” the report states.
But the report also concluded “that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“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. ELECTION INTERFERENCE,” Trump wrote.
Authorities took Biden’s handwritten notes he had taken while in office, as well as some 90 documents found in his office and home, though only a little more than 50 bore classified markings.
Alternatively, authorities found 300 records with classified markings in Trump’s Florida estate — records that were only partially returned following a subpoena, with the rest seized during a search of his home.
Though Trump claimed selective prosecution, such motions can only be brought by those who are actively being prosecuted.
The motions are difficult to win as courts have upheld prosecutorial discretion in determining which cases to bring.
Updated at 4:32 p.m.