>>Hillary will be damaged plenty just by the recommendation.<<
You’re absolutley correct. Think of the impact of a headline that reads something like:
“FBI finds serious violations of the law, recommends indictment”
Hillary would be forced to step aside regardless of an indictment. She will be pounded night and day with headline after headline. The demon-crats will be the folks to call for her to step aside.
The media continue to call these rules, not laws. They continue to protect her through thick and (very) thin.