The former U.S. Navy sailor who was pardoned by President Donald Trump is going to file a lawsuit alleging he was subject to unequal protection of the law.
Kristian Saucier took classified photos inside a nuclear submarine and served a year in prison. He was pardoned by the President this past March.
His lawyer, Ronald Daigle, said Saucier intends to file a lawsuit alleging that the officials who served his punishment were lenient with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her mishandling of classified information on a personal email server, Daigle told Fox News this week.
The lawsuit will name the U.S. Justice Department, former FBI Director James Comey, former President Barack Obama and others.
Kristian Saucier, ex-Navy sailor pardoned by Trump, sets legal sights on Barack Obama, James Comey https://t.co/n52VrXtjIw
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) June 4, 2018
They expect to file the lawsuit soon, Daigle said.
“They interpreted the law in my case to say it was criminal,” Saucier told Fox News. “But they didn’t prosecute Hillary Clinton. Hillary is still walking free. Two guys on my ship did the same thing and weren’t treated as criminals. We want them to correct the wrong.”
“We’ll highlight the differences in the way Hillary Clinton was prosecuted and how my client was prosecuted,” Daigle told Fox. “We’re seeking to cast a light on this to show that there’s a two-tier justice system and we want it to be corrected.”
Kristian Saucier received a 1-year jail sentence for mishandling classified information after taking six photos inside the USS Alexandria, a nuclear submarine, which he was aboard from 2007 to 2012. Saucier served his sentence and was released from prison in October 2017.
The Department of Justice had said it was re-examining the pardon comes less than a year after Saucier received a letter denying his pardon request due to it not meeting the right criteria, including having a five-year waiting period.
Due to an other-than-honorable discharge, Saucier doesn’t receive veterans benefits.
His discharge came after he took six pictures of classified areas inside the USS Alexandria at the age of 22, while working as a machinist’s mate at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.
Saucier took several photos of the reactor compartment. Upon learning he was in trouble, he destroyed a laptop, a memory card and a camera to ensure no one saw the photos.
Saucier tried using Hillary Clinton’s use of classified information to his advantage by giving it as an example after Clinton wasn’t punished.
Saucier has said in the past that he made an innocent mistake, whereas Hillary Clinton and others have mishandled top-level information and “flouted the law.”
During his Presidential campaign, President Trump slammed federal officials for going after Saucier but not punishing Hillary Clinton for her use of a private server to handle classified emails.
And Trump would later tweet about Saucier.
“Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on the submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others,” Trump tweeted in January, seemingly calling on the “Deep State” Justice Department to act.
“We’re hopeful with that tweet today,” Saucier had told Fox, referring to him and his family. “He [Trump] mentioned me quite a few times when he was campaigning, and said it was a double standard how Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin were handled. I mishandled low-level class information and they went after me with the full weight of the government. Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin flagrantly mishandled high-level information, making it available to a pedophile, and they get away with it.”
