Kristian Saucier Sits in a Lonely Cell Awaiting Potential Resolution for Double-Standard Blunder

Photo from U.S. District Court of Connecticut Kristian Saucier is a victim of circumstance. His case, which would have normally resulted in non-judicial punishment carried out by his military command, was taken by a civilian court. He had watched as other enlisted service members with similar offenses previously had walked away with their careers and reputations mostly intact as they received a slap on the wrist.

In The Wrong Place, At The Wrong Time

In the middle of what was a Presidential election season that was not short of controversy, one of the biggest issues that were talked about regularly was the mishandling of classified information by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Secretary Clinton had installed a private unsecured server in her home that was used to transmit what was later discovered to be classified information via e-mail. This classified information was vital to national security and the FBI had stated when reopening the investigation mere days before last November’s election that they believed that up to five different countries may have hacked into the server.

The issue of data security became a central theme of the election as WikiLeaks began to publish Democratic National Committee e-mails that were embarrassing and damaging to the Clinton campaign. The e-mails exposed, among other things, the rigging of the Democratic primary in the favor of Hillary Clinton in her heated contest against the very popular Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Also, coming to light were embarrassing threads that exposed racism in the party. The email was sent from DNC digital official and Obama campaign staffer Rebecca Christopher and it reads:

Hi everyone,

Attached is a script for a new video we’d like to use to mop up some more taco bowl engagement, and demonstrate that Trump actually isn’t trying.

Let me know if you have any flags and thank you!

Also brought to light, was an email exchange between Scott Comer, the finance chief of staff and LGBT finance director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Zachary Allen with the firm TIPAH Consulting which makes fun of LaQueenia Gibson’s name. Gibson is an executive assistant for the company Haddad Brands.

“LaQueenia is a NAME!” Allen joked in his exchange with comer in May 2016, “I’m sorry, boo. I hope you got a raise with this title.”

With intense scrutiny on data leaks dominating the news-cycle, Kristian found himself in the unfortunate position of being the fall guy. Kristian, who admitted to taking a half-dozen photos of the USS Alexandria’s classified propulsion system while working as a machinist in its engine room in 2009, plead guilty in Spring 2016 to one count of unauthorized possession and retention of national defense information.

Court documents show that his defense attorneys said that the FBI’s decision not to charge Mrs. Clinton for similar crimes related to her use of a private email server should have been taken into consideration during the sentencing phase of the trial.

“Mr. Saucier possessed six (6) photographs classified as ‘confidential/restricted,’ far less than Clinton’s 110 emails,” Derrick Hogan, Saucier’s attorney wrote.

“It would 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,” Hogan added.

In the end, Kristian Saucier received a one-year sentence in federal prison and a one-year fine. His mother, Kathleen, has been making the rounds on TV and Radio arguing her sons case for clemency or a full pardon but is yet to receive either. She has established a Facebook page, called American Patriots Against Double Standards, to bring awareness to her son’s predicament, and the case has even been referred to by the New President and VP.

Much attention has been brought to the matter, but for now, he continues to sit in his cell, hoping and praying for a fair resolution and end to his unjust sentence.