In coming weeks, expect to hear a great deal about Kristian Saucier, an active sailor in U.S. Navy who faces up to six years in prison for mishandling classified information.

He is becoming the poster boy for those who charge that Hillary Clinton escaped criminal charges because she is a big shot.

"There is a double standard," said U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican. "The Clintons and others at the top get to live by a different set of rules than everyone else. The standard has to be the same for that lowly sailor."

Let's take a closer look. Because what this sailor did was actually more willful, and deserves harsher punishment.

Saucier was serving as a machinist's mate aboard the USS Alexandra, a nuclear attack submarine, when he took photographs of the sub's propulsion system on three separate occasions in 2009 with his cell phone. When lined up, the photos presented a panoramic picture of the systems.

In court papers, prosecutors said the photos were clear enough to reveal classified details about the submarine, such as its maximum speed, that could be of use to foreign governments. Still, the images were deemed only "confidential," the lowest tier of classified information.

Neither the FBI nor the Navy has discussed what Saucier intended to do with those photos. But after FBI agents and Navy investigators confronted him in March 2012, Saucier returned to his home and destroyed a laptop, a camera, and the camera's memory card.

He was charged with two felony counts, and in May he pleaded guilty to one of them, violating the Espionage Act. Sentencing is set for August, and under federal guidelines he's expected to serve five or six years.

Let's compare that to Clinton's behavior.

FBI Director James Comey said his agents found no evidence that Clinton knowingly broke the law. Only a "very small number" of the classified e-mails she sent or received were marked as classified, he noted.

Saucier, by contrast, must have known that taking photographs of the sub's propulsion system was illegal. It's obvious, and it's part of the training all sailors aboard a sub receive.

Clinton also did nothing to obstruct the FBI inquiry, according to Comey. Saucier rushed home as soon as he learned of the investigation to destroy evidence. Pieces of his laptop were later discovered in the woods on a property in Connecticut owned by a family member.

Granted, Comey could have found that Clinton committed a crime through "gross negligence" even if she didn't do so intentionally, and even if she cooperated with investigators. He found her behavior to be "extremely careless" and if there is a bright line distinguishing that from "gross negligence" then you'd need a law degree to see it.

So is that where Comey cut a special deal for Clinton? Did her carelessness rise to the level of criminal negligence?

On that question, Comey relied on precedent. He asked whether prosecutors typically file criminal charges in similar situations, and he found the answer was no:

"All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a away as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice. We do not see those things here."

Apply that same test to the Saucier case, and criminal charges are perfectly appropriate. He did intentionally break the law, and he did try to obstruct justice.

So where is the special treatment for Clinton? When you use precisely the same standards, as spelled out by Comey, Saucier is the one who belongs in prison.

The final irony is that this charge -- that the system is rigged in favor of the elites -- comes from people like Issa, the richest man in Congress, and from Donald Trump, who is probably richer still. Both of them are pressing for deeper tax cuts for rich, while spewing this sloppy populism when it suits their political interests.

It is a fake claim. Clinton was judged by a fair standard. And it was exactly the same standard applied to Saucier.

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Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.