- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Facing Prison for Nuke Photos, US Navy Sailor Points to Clinton Email Scandal

© AP PhotoHillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, has recently announced her candidacy for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, has recently announced her candidacy for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Petty Officer First Class Kristian Saucier is facing the possibility of years in prison for putting classified intelligence at risk. Seeking leniency, his attorneys are citing the private email server used by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In May, a US federal court found Saucier guilty of taking photographs of classified spaces within a US nuclear submarine.

The attack submarine USS Alexandria (SSN-757) passes through the Suez Canal by the Egyptian city of Ismailia, 100 kilometers northeast of Cairo, 26 October 2006 on its way to the Mediterranean Sea from the Gulf - Sputnik International
US Sailor Guilty of Taking Classified Photos of US Nuclear Submarine

"On at least three separate dates in 2009, [Kristian] Saucier used the camera on his personal cellphone to take photographs of classified spaces, instruments and equipment of the USS Alexandria, documenting the major technical components of the submarine’s propulsion system," read a statement released by the US Justice Department at the time.

As Saucier awaits sentencing, defense attorney Derrick Hogan has argued that his client should receive probation. His justification? Hillary Clinton.

"…[Clinton] has come under scrutiny for engaging in acts similar to Mr. Saucier," Hogan wrote in a legal filing.

"In our case, Mr. Saucier possessed six photographs classified as 'confidential/restricted,' far less than Clinton’s 110 emails," the filing reads, referring to emails sent through Clinton’s private server that were marked “top secret” or “secret.”

"It will be unjust and unfair for Mr. Saucier to receive any sentence other than probation for a crime those more powerful than him will likely avoid."

Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, listens as she testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, before the House Select Committee on Benghazi - Sputnik International
Clinton Avoids Punishment for Mishandling Classified Material

In July, FBI Director James Comey announced the results of the agency’s investigation into whether Clinton mishandled classified material during her time as US Secretary of State. Despite his opinion that Clinton and her staff were "extremely careless," and that "any reasonable person should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that kind of information," the FBI did not recommend prosecution.

Saucier isn’t the first whose lawyer has sought to use the Clinton case to seek leniency. Major Jason Brezler is facing the end of his military career after sending a classified message from an unclassified email account.

His attorney, Michael J. Bowe, plans to cite the Clinton case "as one of the many and most egregious examples" of the harshness of Brezler’s treatment.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала