Get the Facts: Why was Trump Indicted and not Biden, Pence or Clinton?
A fact check shows cases dramatically differ on the central question of obstruction
A fact check shows cases dramatically differ on the central question of obstruction
A fact check shows cases dramatically differ on the central question of obstruction
The historic, 37-count federal indictment of Donald Trump accusing the former president of taking some of the nation’s national security secrets out of the White House and not returning them when asked has led some of his defenders to wonder why other former leaders – such as Joe Biden, Mike Pence, and Hillary Clinton – found to possess restricted documents after they left office have not also been charged.
Legal experts say there’s a central difference.
“It’s about the refusal to give them back. It’s about the obstruction,” said Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, who’s not involved in the federal prosecution of the former president. “That’s why this situation is so senseless, so pointless, such a self-inflicted wound.”
Trump has previously claimed he declassified the documents later found still marked “classified.” But under the Espionage Act, it does not matter, said Clark Cunningham, a professor who specializes in criminal and constitutional law at Georgia State University’s College of Law.
"The grand jury subpoena required production of documents marked classified. It didn't subpoena classified documents, (it) subpoenaed documents marked classified. And indeed, as we know, hundreds of documents marked classified were found at Mar-a -Lago after, supposedly, the former president had complied with that subpoena and turned over all documents marked classified."
Watch our story above to ‘Get the Facts’ on why federal prosecutors only indicted Donald Trump.
- Watch our ‘Get the Facts’ story on how grand juries work.
- Watch our ‘Get the Facts’ story on the known criminal investigations into Donald Trump.
- Watch our ‘Get the Facts’ story on a New York state grand jury’s indictment of Trump.
Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. Wendy Wilk, Tamika Cody, Reid Bolton, and Carla O contributed to this report.
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