Jack Smith: Trump's Classified Docs Case Worse Than Biden's

Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's team contended Monday that former President Donald Trump's "deceitful criminal conduct" regarding his handling of classified documents does not even "remotely" resemble the case against President Joe Biden.

In a 12-page court filing Monday that pushed back against Trump's emphatic claims of selective prosecution, Smith's team rejected the former president's attempt to draw parallels between his case and Biden's, and said special counsel Robert Hur's report on his investigation into Biden laid bare why Trump — and not Biden — is facing criminal charges.

"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. And the evidence concerning the two men's intent — whether they knowingly possessed and willfully retained such documents — is also starkly different."

Trump has been criminally charged for his handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing. He and his allies have also slammed the Justice Department for not making a similar criminal case against, Biden, who was found to have had classified documents in his possession at various locations, including his Delaware home and former offices.

Harbach wrote that the volume and sensitivity of the records Trump retained sets his case apart from other examples of mishandling classified materials that were settled without criminal charges.

"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.

Monday reportedly marked the first time Smith's team mentioned Hur's report in a court filing.

The Hur report, while apparently clearing Biden of criminal allegations, has also raised a firestorm in its assessment of the incumbent as aged, with a feeble memory.

Hur's Report

Hur dropped a damning assessment of Biden's historical handling of classified materials earlier this month, including details in his report about Biden's advanced age and poor memory.

Hur's report described Biden's memory as "hazy," "fuzzy," "faulty," "poor" and having "significant limitations." It noted that Biden could not recall key milestones in his life.

"He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended ['if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?'], and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began ['in 2009, am I still Vice President?']," the report said. "He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."

The president's defenders have criticized the report as a gratuitous political attack, especially given the recommendation that no charges be brought.

But Biden critics have seized on the Hur document to bolster their contention that he — at 81, the oldest person ever to hold the high office — is not fit to fulfill his duties, let alone run for a second term. The argument aligns with the findings of several recent polls in which respondents voice serious concerns about Biden's age and capacity to lead.

Some have expressed concerns that Trump, now 77, may also be too old for the presidency, though his defenders maintain he is more vigorous than Biden.

As for the documents dustup, Biden has frequently sought to contrast his case with Trump's, emphasizing how his attorneys notified the Justice Department when they found classified documents at his Delaware residence, permitted searches of his home and cooperated with investigators.