It was back in the summer of 2016 when Petty Officer First Class Kristian Saucier was sentenced to a year in prison on a felony charge of retaining national defense information without permission.
In May, Saucier had pleaded guilty to taking and keeping six cell phone photos of the U.S.S. Alexandria’s propulsion system he knew to be classified. Saucier’s lawyer tried to reduce Saucier’s sentence to probation by citing the treatment given to Hillary Clinton after it had been discovered how she’d handled classified information.
“Why is my son in prison for mishandling classified information while Hillary Rodham Clinton, who’s done much worse, is running for president?” his mother asked in a segment on “Fox and Friends” just before the election.
Good news: the White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump has pardoned Saucier.
Trump pardons sailor in submarine photos case, White House sayshttps://t.co/3SqIGLoECz pic.twitter.com/MS7THde68S
— POLITICO (@politico) March 10, 2018
“The president has pardoned Kristian Saucier, a Navy submariner,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced at a briefing with reporters. The Justice Department later confirmed the move.
Sanders added that “the president is appreciative of Mr. Saucier’s service to the country.”
…
The president brought the case back into public view in January, when he compared the treatment of Saucier with that of his former electoral opponent Hillary Clinton and her top campaign officials.
“Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents,” Trump tweeted in January. “Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail!”
But it’s like Barack Obama explained on TV with Hillary by his side: there’s classified, and then there’s classified. It’s complicated.
Here's the clemency warrant signed by President Trump today granting Kristian Saucier "a full and unconditional pardon" for unauthorized possession of classified information. https://t.co/gtXM4fBys1 pic.twitter.com/bROk6GFljB
— Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) March 9, 2018
Congratulations to Kristian Saucier, a man who has served proudly in the Navy, on your newly found Freedom. Now you can go out and have the life you deserve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 10, 2018
He learned the news while driving a garbage truck, the only job he could find after being sentenced with a felony… https://t.co/7qQVfmTpH7
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) March 10, 2018
Update:
Here’s Saucier in his own words, courtesy of Fox News:
Kristian Saucier's message to President @realDonaldTrump: “Thank you sir for your bravery… Thank you for having the moral fortitude to follow through with your promises.” https://t.co/n0i2o3ZUGK pic.twitter.com/M2VvtPJ968
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 11, 2018
Related:
Will pleading ‘Hillary’ get this Navy sailor off the hook? Confidence is low https://t.co/yy0MByA7LJ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 15, 2016
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