Former President Donald J. Trump, who is facing criminal charges for illegally storing classified documents, on Friday slammed the special counsel's decision not to indict President Biden for handling classified documents, saying prosecutors were unfairly He accused them of having a double standard.
“Look, it's up to them whether he won't be indicted or not. But then I shouldn't be indicted,” Trump said at an event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, adding, “This is against me, a political opponent of Biden. This is nothing but selective persecution.”
Trump's comments at a forum sponsored by the National Rifle Association were his first public remarks on the issue since Special Counsel Robert K. Hur released a report that said: It became. ” retained and disclosed classified material after his vice presidency ended, but no criminal charges were warranted.
Trump said he has cooperated with “very hostile and unfriendly federal authorities” more than Biden, a claim that is not supported by any evidence. Mr. Xu's report said the president fully cooperated with the investigation, but Mr. Trump has been accused of misleading the government for months about classified documents in his possession.
Trump also argued that Biden's violations were worse than his own, in part because Biden was not president when he committed the acts. Trump faces 40 criminal charges related to keeping classified documents after he left office and refusing to return classified records after being subpoenaed. .
“They're desperately trying to turn the debacle of the Biden document into, 'Oh, but Trump was worse, right?'” No, no, no. “Trump was peanuts compared to that,” Trump said.
He also cited comments by the special counsel questioning Biden's mental recollection, arguing that the president mishandled classified material at a time when he was “mentally a little better than he is now.”
Trump's speech in Pennsylvania, expected to be a swing state in November, suggested how he would use the special counsel's report to strengthen two central claims of his campaign. That means Mr. Trump is the victim of unfair prosecution by Democrats, and that Mr. Biden is not mentally competent to serve as president.
Trump also made it clear that he wants to chip away at the Democratic base in states he twice falsely claimed to have won. He didn't provide details, but the border crisis is a key constituency that Democrats are trying to win support from: “African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, all unions.” He argued that it would unduly influence the
But even as Mr. Trump signaled efforts to target voters, he used his platform — a forum at an NRA-sponsored outdoor sports expo — to address gun rights, a central issue for conservatives. He emphasized his support. Politics.
He forcefully promised to protect gun rights from “attacks” by Democrats. He offered few concrete policy proposals, but he promised to undo all of Biden's gun control efforts.
“No one will lay a finger on your gun,” he told the crowd, which erupted into cheers.
