No. of Recommendations: 8
Why is Trump a criminal for possession but Hillary's possession was not a crime. Earlier you explained that Hillary did not commit a crime because there was no intent to disclose inherent in her possession.Trump isn't a criminal for possession. He's a criminal because he didn't return the documents in response to the government's demand that they be returned.
There is a specific statute that makes it a crime to do that. If you have national defense information (whether classified or not), and the government demands its return, it is illegal to keep it. 18 USC 793(e)** provides:
(e) Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; orhttps://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793That's the statute Trump was charged with as the initial crime. He had national defense information, and he willfully retained it and failed to deliver it to the U.S. officers or employees that were entitled to receive it. As noted above, he was also charged with additional crimes relating to his efforts to conceal the fact that he had committed that crime. Clinton could not have been charged with violating this statute, because there was no evidence that she "willfully retain[ed]" any national defense information.
Albaby
** He might end up being convicted under subsection (e) instead of (d). That's basically the same crime, but it applies to people who have "authorized" instead of "unauthorized" possession of national defense information. Because it's a lesser included offense (ie all the elements of that crime are included in the (e) crime), the indictment didn't name both subsections - you don't have to list lesser included offenses separately.
