Posted on 02/28/2024 8:47:24 PM PST by SeekAndFind
One of the key facets of presenting legal arguments involves drawing parallels and distinctions between circumstances and parties. In large part, this is due to the significant role played by legal precedent in our justice system.
Precedent refers to a court decision that is considered as authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar facts, or similar legal issues. Precedent is incorporated into the doctrine of stare decisis and requires courts to apply the law in the same manner to cases with the same facts. Some judges have stated that precedent ensures that individuals in similar situations are treated alike instead of based on a particular judge’s personal views.
Even non-lawyers understand the importance of ensuring that those similarly situated receive similar treatment. Ideally, Lady Justice is blind, and the law's application to all is unbiased. We do not, of course, live in an ideal world or operate with an ideal system — but we should strive to.
Enter one current and one former president — both vying for that office again this November — both of whom find themselves in a classified documents pickle. Both are accused of having (improperly) retained — and improperly stored — classified documents. Both have been on the receiving end of a special counsel investigation into these matters. One is being criminally prosecuted. One is being patted on the head and escorted to an easy chair.
The release of Special Counsel Robert Hur's Report regarding President Joe Biden's alleged mishandling of classified documents in early February caused a stir in multiple ways: On the one hand, Hur's recommendation against prosecution, even while acknowledging Biden's actions broke the law, seemed to be giving Biden a pass. On the other hand, Hur's rationale for giving that pass — namely, that Biden is too old and forgetful to expect a jury to hold him accountable for his misdeeds — severely undermines Biden's candidacy (and, for that matter, justification for remaining in office for the remainder of his term).
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Understandably, former President Donald Trump's legal team has now pointed to the Hur Report in support of his defense in the criminal classified documents case pending against him in the Southern District of Florida. In a nutshell, the Trump team asserts that the leniency afforded President Biden points to both selective prosecution and vindictive prosecution on the part of Jack Smith as to Trump and is seeking additional discovery on that matter. Smith, however, begs to differ.
In a reply opposing Trump and his co-defendants' motions to compel discovery (which may be viewed in full below), Smith attempts to draw significant distinctions between Biden's situation and Trump's, largely turning on Trump's purported behavior after the documents became an issue.
“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,” assistant special counsel David Harbach wrote.
“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,” Harbach added. “And the evidence concerning the two men’s intent — whether they knowingly possessed and willfully retained such documents — is also starkly different.”
...
“There has never been a case in American history in which a former official has engaged in conduct remotely similar to Trump’s,” he wrote.
Now, I'm going to give the prosecution its due here: First, they're doing what they're supposed to do in this type of response — i.e., distinguishing Trump's case from Biden's non-prosecution. Second, there do appear to be differences in Trump's and Biden's post-retention behavior.
Then again, there were differences in their respective offices at the times the documents in question were retained. And differences in the span of time the documents covered and were retained. (And, the cynics among us might note, the respective political parties of the two...)
One thing Donald Trump almost has to like about Smith's stance on this matter, however, is the fact that it implicitly acknowledges that he still retains his mental faculties.
So, to those who claim Trump is only three-and-a-half years younger than Biden and thus, vulnerable to the same age-related criticisms, Trump might cheekily respond: "Yes, but I'm sentient. Even Jack Smith says so."
Biden’s “dementia act” dictated that Hur give him a pass WRT mishandling classified documents.
Hur was manipulated to conclude Biden is “too old and forgetful”
to expect a jury to hold him accountable for his misdeeds.
Unfortunately, Biden failed to realize he severely undermined his candidacy
(and any justification for remaining in office for the remainder of his term).
Thank you for this post. It prompts me to ask a totally different question related to “equal treatment under the law”:
Was Robert Hur a lawfully appointed special counsel, according to constitutional law?
Because Jack Smith was NOT lawfully appointed.
If Hur is and Smith isn’t... that’s another unequal treatment under the law, at the very least.
The last line which the author nicely manufactured reminds me of George Wallace in the ‘68 race. Wallace was being attacked because in WW2 he was discharged on a 10% mental disability. Wallace retorted , “ I got a government paper saying I’m 90% sane. Neither of my opponents can match that.”
Smith is a commie lib! What the hell did they expect the asskissing RAT shyster to say. Pedo Joe is a good old boy and would never do anything wrong. This isn’t news. It’s commie propaganda. Bidenskyyyyyyyyy is a crook.
But Comer sent out an email that said, buried in the Hur report is evidence that the documents that Biden took ( when he was no longer VP) pertained to The Biden family dealings with the Ukraine and China. It has been suggested that Trump had documents pertaining to the same subject.
But that Depends on who you ask.
Seriously though, there's never been more disparity between how these two are treated than we've seen the last few weeks. Half a billion penalty on Trump for a clean deal while Biden gets a bye as proof of his misdeeds continue being exposed.
I hope the Supreme Court can right most of these wrongs, but of late they've been "Brave Sir Robin ran away".
If that’s true that could explain why Trump wants them made available. They have been after Trump in the most serious way since the day he just asked Ukraine “what’s up with those Hunter payments and Joe Biden claiming on video that he blackmailed your country”?
Fast forward a couple of years we’re in a Ukrainian proxy war and spending or at least trying to give something on the order of $400 billion between the US and EU in aid Ukraine. Something is fishy. And I realize it’s a lot more complicated with Russia and NATO but you can’t just ignore all that either.
“Now, I’m going to give the prosecution its due here: First, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do in this type of response — i.e., distinguishing Trump’s case from Biden’s non-prosecution. Second, there do appear to be differences in Trump’s and Biden’s post-retention behavior.”
The author seems to agree with Jack Smith’s case against Trump that he behaved differently with regard to the requests to return documents. But she won’t come out and say it.
The main difference, Jack, is that Trump was entitled to them, as part of the Presidential Records Act, and could declassify them even on whim, as President.
While Biden STOLE them, not having been entitled to possess them in the first place as Senator or Vice President.
DUDE! The name Hillary comes to everyone’s mind! These people really think we are stupid and forgetful. DUDE, we are not sheep!
‘xactly !
s&f is incredibly stupid in this case, to validate illegal treatment under the law by ‘distinctions’
My extreme apologies for my vent that should have been accurately addressed to idiot Susie Moore
Smith is big mad at Trump. Trump is evil and cunning. Smith isn’t big mad at Biden though. Biden is a forgetful old puppy dog. And besides, no reasonable prosecutor would file charges against such a sweet old man.
When will the DOJ declare felony behavior against groper Joe????
Thanks for posting that pic! ..... I’m sharing it.
There is no ‘behavior’ in this. It is only the fact that highly classified documents were taken without approval and were not properly secured, period. The rest of behavior and intention blather is just government BS - political.
Yes,there are many differences...one being that DJT was President and that The Big Guy was a Senator (and VP).
Smith was the lawyer behind the Lois Lerner IRS attack on Tea Party groups. He and Marc Elias are the evil faces of lawfare.
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