Trump calls Biden's handling of classified documents “brazen theft”
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Former President Trump speaks at a "Get Out the Vote" Rally in Conway, South Carolina, on February 10. Photo: Julia Nikhinson / AFP via Getty Images
Former President Trump called President Biden's handling of classified documents investigated by special counsel Robert Hur "brazen theft" Saturday at a "Get Out the Vote" rally in South Carolina.
Why it matters: Trump's remarks follow the end of a yearlong investigation, which did not end in charges against Biden but found that his actions presented "serious risks to national security."
The latest: Trump — facing a 37-count federal indictment after hundreds of classified documents were found in his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — noted that Biden's handling of classified documents happened before he was president.
- "Now in my case, I'm covered by the Presidential Records Act," Trump said, repeating a claim of which many legal experts are skeptical.
- Trump later joked about getting indicted more than Al Capone.
- "If I fly over a blue state, I get a subpoena," Trump said, later making the unsubstantiated claim that it the cases against him are election interference.
Context: Trump's speech had many of his usual rally markers — a reference to immigrants as "real bad people," extra emphasis on Hussein when saying former President Barack Hussein Obama's name and repeated digs at GOP rival and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
- The rally, after all, was held in her home state.
Details: Trump earlier said he viewed the South Carolina primary as an opportunity to end Haley's presidential campaign with a final blow. At the rally, he referred to Haley's campaign as "irrelevant."
- He called her the "war machine" and claimed she would not pass a cognitive test for president.
- The former president called for a cognitive test to be a requirement of the presidency, though he said that would be unconstitutional.
Catch up fast: Trump has zeroed in on Haley personally in recent weeks, publicizing conspiracy theories about her U.S. citizenship. Haley has responded to with criticism of the former president.
- Haley told the Wall Street Journal on Monday that she requested Secret Service protection after facing threats.
- The Haley campaign, which raised $16.5 million in January, has enough money to press on, but Republican leaders have called for her GOP primary bid to end, Axios politics reporter Erin Doherty reports.
Go deeper: Nikki Haley's fundraising takes off while GOP tries to end her campaign
