In 2009, at age 22, Kristian Saucier (pictured) took six photographs inside the classified area of the U.S.S. Alexandria
A former U.S. Navy sailor’s bid for a pardon following his release from jail after he was caught taking photos of classified areas inside a nuclear submarine is being considered by the Justice Department.
In 2009, at age 22, Kristian Saucier took six photographs inside the classified area of the U.S.S. Alexandria, a nuclear submarine and eventually pleaded guilty of unauthorized possession and retention of national defense information.
Saucier served a year in federal prison for the offense. Now at 31-year-old, the former sailor is trying to clear his name for good but has ran into obstacles along the way.
Last year, Saucier received a rejection letter from the Department of Justice’s Pardon Attorney informing him that he had not met the criteria to qualify for the exemption, which includes waiting five years after sentencing.
The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Alexandria (pictured) arrives pierside in its new homeport of San Diego
President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to the former sailor during the 2016 campaign, drawing attention to the handling of his case
‘Upon careful review of the information you submitted, we have concluded that it would not be appropriate to grant a waiver of the waiting period in Mr. Saucier’s case to permit him to apply for a pardon at this time.’
But late last month, the Justice Department sent a follow up letter stating that Saucier’s pardon application is being processed in the system.
‘We will now be processing the application for presidential pardon of your client, Kristian Saucier,’ the Office of the Pardon Attorney wrote to Saucier’s current attorney, Ronald Daigle.
Saucier’s case was prompted when a cell phone belonging to the sailor was found in a dumpster in March 2012
The new letter, dated Feb. 20, from the DOJ says it needs a full accounting of Saucier’s criminal, employment, and medical history along with information about his current civic engagement, according to The Washington Examiner.
‘We are very excited about this because the DOJ had dashed our hopes of getting a pardon when our waiver and pardon were denied,’ Daigle said.
We have renewed hopes that our president is going to get the opportunity to see our request and hopefully give my client his future back,’ Daigle continued.
‘The president has seen and identified this as an injustice. Nothing could ever give my client the year back he spent in prison back, but he has paid enough and deserves his future back which is what a full presidential pardon would do.’
President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to the former sailor during the 2016 campaign, drawing attention to the handling of his case and describing it as overzealous and politically motivated.
In one tweet, posted earlier this year, Trump stated: ‘Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid[e], Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols,’ Trump wrote. ‘She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents.’
Former sailor Kristian Saucier pictured with his wife Sadie (R) and baby daughter
‘Remember sailors pictures on submarine?’ Trump asked, referring to Saucier. ‘Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others.’
Saucier’s case was prompted when a cell phone belonging to the sailor was found in a dumpster in March 2012 by the supervisor of a town dump in Connecticut.
That individual found photos Saucier had taken aboard the Alexandria and alerted his friend, a retried Navy chief, who in turn took the images to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, who eventually contacted the FBI.
The images showed various control panels on the submarine, along with a panoramic image of the ship’s reactor compartment, according to the Navy Times.
Saucier told Fox he took the photos to show his family the exciting environment he was working in.
‘I made an innocent mistake,’ the former sailor protested. ‘Many people [who have served in the military] have said they also took pictures not for nefarious purposes.’
‘The pictures were on my own personal device, not for distribution, which so many people do,’ he maintained.
‘Because the FBI and Department of Justice wanted to get someone at that time, they went after me and destroyed my life,’ Saucier said.