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A 4 October 2016 debate between vice presidential candidates Mike Pence and Tim Kaine led to renewed interest in the August 2016 conviction of Navy sailor Kristian Saucier on charges he mishandled classified information: During the debate, Pence and Kaine sparred over whether Kaine's running mate, Hillary Clinton, received favorable treatment in comparison to service members prosecuted for similar accusations. The relevant exchange was widely reproduced in coverage of the debate and occurred when moderator Elaine Quijano posed a question about Syria, and Pence interjected to ask if he could discuss cybersecurity. That digression quickly turned to mention of Clinton's e-mail server controversy, and launched a dispute over whether it was true American service members had been prosecuted for similar actions: Among the individuals citing Saucier's conviction in response to the dispute was Kathleen Saucier, the serviceman's mother. Saucier published a Facebook post to a conservative blog's page objecting to Kaine's denial that Hillary Clinton's handling of classified e-mail would have resulted in a court martial if she were a member of the military: On 6 October 2016, Kathleen Saucier also appeared on Fox News to discuss her frustration about the debate segment: Kristian Saucier's legal troubles began well prior to Clinton's e-mail scandal, when photographs on a phone he at one point possessed were discovered by a landfill supervisor and shown to a friend of his in the Navy. According to the Navy Times, Saucier was arrested 28 May 2015 on charges he took and retained pictures of classified spaces and knowingly destroyed evidence to disrupt an ongoing investigation. Early reports indicated Saucier's intent in taking the photographs was a central concern of prosecutors, and Saucier was one of several sailors alleged to have violated a then-new ban on personal devices in classified spaces: Investigators considered an intent of espionage, a charge Saucier's lawyers strongly contested. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) further alleged Saucier had destroyed evidence in order to avoid prosecution, but the Bureau did not present any evidence he had attempted to disseminate the photographs (all captured while he was on duty) of classified equipment or spaces: Three witnesses attested to knowledge of Saucier's possession of the images, and the FBI alleged Saucier attempted to destroy the evidence that he had taken them: At the time of that report, the case was still in its exploratory phases. On 27 May 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a press release stating that Saucier had pled guilty to one count of unauthorized possession and retention of classified material. Espionage was not mentioned as an element of his plea, and Saucier was not court-martialed: The debate didn't mark the first instance of Kristian Saucier's charges and conviction being compared to Clinton's private e-mail server investigation. At Saucier's August 2016 sentencing hearing, his lawyers argued for a sentence of probation and maintained that Clinton's contemporaneous FBI investigation and the Bureau's ultimate decision not to indict her ought to be taken into account. Prosecutors argued the defense was grasping ... at straws in drawing a comparison to Clinton, as well as to other sailors of similar rank punished less severely for taking photographs on the ship. Saucier's attorneys pointed to uneven prosecution of offenses relating to classified information and cited specifics of the Clinton e-mail investigation, while several witnesses asserted Saucier was definitely aware his actions constituted a serious offense: Although Director of the Undersea Warfare Division for the Chief of Naval Operations Rear Admiral Charles Richard argued on behalf of the Navy for a severe sentence in a victim impact statement, the prosecution was impeded by the low level of classification of the photographs: On 19 August 2016, Saucier was sentenced to one year in prison, six months of home confinement, and fined $100, far less than the six-year sentence the prosecution sought. Saucier's attorney surmised that the Clinton investigation may have influenced the lighter sentence, and Saucier's shipmates urged the judge to consider varying penalties applied for similar behavior: Both Kristian Saucier and Hillary Clinton were federally investigated over alleged mishandling of classified information: Saucier was charged and sentenced to prison, while Clinton was controversially not indicted by the DOJ after a lengthy investigation. Shipmates of Saucier and some members of the public have contrasted the cases to suggest that Saucier faced harsher penalties for a lesser offense, but intent was the core of the FBI's recommendation not to indict Clinton, while several witnesses testified that Saucier was fully aware his actions were prohibited. Kristian Saucier was pardoned by President Donald Trump in March 2018. In June 2018, his lawyer announced that Saucier intended to file a lawsuit against Obama administration officials, alleging that he was subject to unequal protection of the law.
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