In 2016, Donald Trump rode to the White House by vigorously criticizing his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as “corrupt” and “crooked” amid an investigation into classified materials kept on a private email server during her time as secretary of state.
“Lock her up,” his adoring crowds chanted.
But now the shoe is on the other foot. Trump’s attacks on Clinton have come back to bite him as he himself is indicted over his handling of classified documents. His words are even featured in the indictment in a special “But her emails!” style section.
On a page titled “TRUMP’s Public Statements on Classified Information,” the new indictment highlights excerpts from Trump’s campaign trail speeches in 2016 about the importance of protecting classified information and enforcing the law. These statements serve as evidence that the former president seemed to know that mishandling classified information is a serious crime.
“In my administration I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information,” Trump said on Aug. 18, 2016, as the indictment notes. “No one will be above the law.”
“We also need to fight this battle by collecting intelligence and then protecting, protecting our classified secrets. … We can’t have someone in the Oval Office who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified,” Trump said on Sept. 6, 2016.
“[O]ne of the first things we must do is to enforce all classification rules and to enforce all laws relating to the handling of classified information,” Trump is quoted as saying on Sept. 7, 2016.
“We also need the best protection of classified information,” Trump said on Sept. 19, 2016.
“Service members here in North Carolina have risked their lives to acquire classified intelligence to protect our country,” Trump said on Nov. 3, 2016.
Prior to these statements, then-FBI Director James Comey announced that the Department of Justice would not bring charges against Clinton because “our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case,” but added that she and her aides were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”
A subsequent DOJ inspector general probe revealed that investigators decided not to bring a case becuase “None of the emails contained clear classification markings as required” under orders governing the handling of classified materials.
Among the charges Trump faces are 31 counts of retaining and failing to hand over clearly marked confidential documents containing national defense information.
Trump is set to be booked Tuesday for allegedly breaking the same laws he claimed Clinton should have been locked up for just seven years ago. If only someone had been around then to tell him about the importance of following the rules on handling classified information.