Trump demands DOJ 'immediately' drop charges against him in classified docs case after Biden decision – Fox News
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Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on special counsel Robert Hur concluding his investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents and sending it to Congress.
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump told Fox News Digital that “deranged” Special Counsel Jack Smith needs to “immediately” drop all charges against him in his classified records case following the decision not to bring charges against President Biden for his retention of sensitive national security documents.
LIVE: SPECIAL COUNSEL RELEASES REPORT ON BIDEN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT PROBE
Trump spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report was made public. Hur did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents — and stated that he wouldn’t bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.
Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”
Trump, on the other hand, was charged out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation related to his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.
Former President Donald Trump points to supporters at the conclusion of a campaign rally at the Atkinson Country Club in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on Jan. 16. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.
NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS
That trial is set to begin on May 20.
“They should immediately drop the case against me,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I am covered by the Presidential Records Act — he wasn’t. He had many, many times more documents — totally unguarded. Mine were always surrounded by Secret Service and in locked rooms.”
Classified documents found in Biden’s Delaware residence.
Hur, in his report, revealed damning photos of classified national security documents stored unsecurely in Biden’s garage, basement and offices at his Wilmington, Delaware, home.
Trump said Biden’s case is “100 times more severe.”
Hur, in his report, described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Classified documents found in Biden’s Delaware residence.
When asked about that description, Trump told Fox News Digital that Biden does “have a poor memory,” but that “he had to have a poor memory in order to get out of this mess.”
“This is 100 times more severe. This is two standards of justice and it has to end in our country,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Deranged Jack Smith should drop the case immediately against us.”
Trump added: “It is election interference…. I did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided by the FBI in August 2022. Federal agents seized documents and records dating back to Trump’s presidency.
A Secret Service agent and a security guard officer guard the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump, in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 31, 2023. (REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo)
Garland, on Nov. 18, 2022, appointed Smith to serve as special counsel to investigate whether Trump was improperly retaining classified records at Mar-a-Lago.
When Smith was appointed to investigate Trump, Garland and top DOJ officials were simultaneously conducting an internal review of President Biden’s mishandling of classified records. That review, and the discovery of classified records at Biden’s office, was not disclosed to the public until January.
Republicans and allies of former President Trump were outraged, blasting the Justice Department for a double standard.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.