Posted on 07/05/2016 4:50:42 PM PDT by Kaslin
I may be alone in saying this, but when the proverbial dust settles, James Comey may have hurt Hillary Clinton more than he helped her in his statement Tuesday concerning the Grand Email Controversy. He may have let her off the hook legally, but personally he has left the putative Democratic candidate scarred almost beyond recognition.
By getting out in front of the Justice Department, the FBI director, speaking publicly in an admittedly unusual fashion, was able to frame the case in a manner that Attorney General Loretta Lynch in all probability never would have.
Read this portion of Comey's transcript and ask yourself how this person (Clinton) could ever serve successfully as president of the United States:
Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. Prosecutors necessarily weigh a number of factors before bringing charges. There are obvious considerations, like the strength of the evidence, especially regarding intent. Responsible decisions also consider the context of a person’s actions, and how similar situations have been handled in the past.
In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. 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 way 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.
To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions. But that is not what we are deciding now.
Look at that last paragraph again, because, if the Republicans have any brains at all, they will be quoting it ad infinitum. "To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions." What Comey is clearly saying (and leaving for us to "decide now") is that--whether you agree with his decision not to indict or no (I don't)—in a normal, real-world situation Clinton would face consequences, quite probably be demoted or even fired, certainly not promoted to the presidency of the United States, for what she did.
Which brings me back to why Comey made this speech.
Yes, I suppose he owed it to the public, as he indicated. But I wonder if the greater motivation was fear that Clinton would be completely exonerated, that she would skate away free once he passed the FBI decision on to the Justice Department. It's hard to imagine Lynch speaking in public about how Clinton and her aides were "extremely careless" about national security, obvious though that was, or the high probability that the Clinton's server, not to mention her cell phone (!), was hacked by foreign powers. There were also several new revelations, such as the surprising fact that there were actually multiple personal servers, not just one. This was prevarication of a high and deliberate order. (Remember how Hillary claimed Powell and Rice did the same thing? What complete and utter horse hockey.) And that her lawyers never actually read her emails before deleting them, relying on the subject lines (how to keep yourself out of trouble).
The proximity of Comey's statement to the Bill Clinton/Loretta Lynch meeting on Lynch's plane should also be noted and is potential grist for the mill for historians in the years to come.
My purpose here is not to exonerate Comey. In all probability he was a more than a bit of a coward, looking for a way out. But that way out may prove to have powerful ramifications. A Hillary indictment, in all likelihood, would have meant a new and more scandal-free Democratic candidate, a Joe Biden perhaps, far more potent than the seriously wounded Clinton who now has even more explaining to do. It's an endless case of be-careful-what-you-wish-for. And if we are to believe Judicial Watch (and I do), it's only just begun:
FBI Director James Comey detailed Hillary Clinton’s massive destruction of government records and grossly negligent handling of classified information. Frankly, there’s a disconnect between Comey’s devastating findings and his weak recommendation not to prosecute Hillary Clinton. Federal prosecutors, independent of politics, need to consider whether to pursue the potential violations of law confirmed by the FBI.
I don’t buy it. She is blatantly guilty of treason for personal gain. In a just Country, a nation of laws, she would be tried, almost certainly found guilty, and stood up against a wall. The fact that this is not going to happen tells me we are no longer a nation of laws. We are a third world banana republic, where money and power mean you can do literally anything. Sell secrets, get men killed, no worries. If you’re one of the more equal pigs, you don’t face consequences, you get more money and power.
The picture going around on FB has a picture of Comey, on the top it says “Guilty as hell” and on the bottom, “But I don’t want to die suddenly and mysteriously.”
One thing I do know about cankles, she ain't got the "martyrdom protection" that the current head muzzie puppet has.
I look for some big diversion to happen in the next few days in an attempt to get this off the headlines AND excite the gun control "natives". d:^)
The FBI evidence against Clinton will not be challenged or refuted because there will not be a trial.
This means it’s a “he said / she said”.
Do you believe Hillary’s story or do you believe the 100+ FBI agents results and Comey’s analysis?
With no prosecution, then her entire FBI interview should be available.
I'm not so sure Comey is doing Hillary Clinton any favors.
Comey gave a real good road map that's going to stir up a few hornets nest's for Hillary and her many ongoing investigations
Hillary has created quite a tangled mess with many complex moving parts and there are at least 4 separate investigations ongoing.
First, we have Gowdy’s Benghazi investigation which he just closed but may reopen based on new Comey FBI revelations which suggest Hillary lied and perjured herself in testimony to his select committee.
Second we have the Hillary server FBI investigation, now closed.
Third we have a wide spread Washington “Public Corruption” investigation by the FBI uncovered as a result of information from the Hillary email Investigation
Fourth , we have a Clinton Foundation investigation related to the Third.
There may be a fifth espionage related investigation, or it may be rolled into one of the above investigations
Remember Hillary's “Victory Lap” testimony to Trey Gowdy’s Benghazi Select committee where she spiked the ball and partied all night to celebrate supposedly kicking Gowdy’s butt.
She was under sworn oath at the time - Gowdy swore her in privately to avoid making her look bad on national TV.
She “won” because she lied her ass off in that sworn testimony and figured she would get away with it.
Well, according to Comey in her FBI interview it seems she told a different story that contradicts many points of her previously sworn testimony under oath to Gowdy on Benghazi.
That's perjury and I am sure Trey Gowdy will be very interested in obtiaining the video and transcripts of the FBI interrogation to compare notes.
Now that the FBI investigation is closed, Clinton can't hide behind the old Clinton favorite stonewall excuse of hiding behind an ongoing criminal investigation of themselves citing grand jury secrecy
Hillary lied under oath and in doing so made Trey look like a fool land a partisan buffoon. I predict Trey's gonna have some fun with that one at Hillary's.
Another series of seemingly innocuous comments made by Comey were shocking and frightening.
First off, Comey stated that much of Hillary's email server data was destroyed by Hillary and we will never know what was in it.
We do know that she had illegal, unauthorized and highly classified state secret info on her server, some of which was ultra sensitive , ultra secret Compartmentalized Special Access Program (SAP) .
Hillary was not authorized to have access to least some of this SAP secret information.
The information seems to have been illegally obtained and emailed via unsecured email to Hillary by Sidney Blumental and his associates and also some by her aides at the State Dept. Hillary herself may have stolen some on her own.
This is an espionage nightmare for a number of US Government intelligence agencies like the NSA,CIA, DIA, FBI and others. Their most pressing concern is discovering how much we are compromised and how much damage has been done to national security so they can try to limit or repair the damage.
But the fact that Hillary has destroyed all the evidence and corrupted the data logs means that the various spy and intelligence will never know how much secret information Hillary actually had on her servers. They do know that she had the most ultra sensitive state secrets on the server because they found them, but they can't be sure of how many f the 60,000 deleted emails were similarly ultra secret. They do know that those documents were the most incriminating and thus would have been the first documents Hillary would have wanted to destroy. Because the access logs were corrupted , our intelligence agencies do not have a good picture of how compromised they were by hackers and cyber warriors. so they have to assume the worst, which is their worst. Hillary is their worst nightmare - a high level politician who mis used her virtually unlimited access to the most sensitive state secrets.
This is very, very bad and Hillary is 100% responsible, even if she is not accountable
Well, Paul Ryan, where’s your call for articles of impeachment of Comey?
The same can be said for civil suits and groups like Judicial Watch.
Comey also provided fodder any number of Investigator General investigations if any IGs so choose.
Here we go again.......Obamacare/Roberts Decision Sequel. There aren’t any upsides to this bullsh$t. Comey/Lynch/Obama have so much power they decided to use it and stuff it in the face of the American people. Please stop this waiting for THE “real reason why” a democrats a$$ was saved, blah, blah, blah. “Oh, this is bad news for Hillary, this could backfire for her puke, puke. AMERICA HAS FALLEN.
Exactly. There is enough of a furor going on right now, which takes the Clinton Foundation scandal off the burner.
Oh baloney. People thought John Roberts was doing something shrewd when he made his Obastardcare decision. The fact of the matter is, these SOB’s families were either threatened or they were blackmailed.
Wishful thinking.
Now people are grabbing at straws.
My impression as well. He was like a hostage reading a canned speech to the cameras. Just off-camera were the guns trained on him. He was choosing his words carefully.
There are a number of ongoing investigations that have been disclosed at one time or another.
First is a “far reaching public corruption investigation” brought to light by Hillary. Clinton investigations.
The next Is an investigation of the Clinton Foundation's Pay for Play scheme.
There is the State Dept email server investigation.
There is an espionage and abuse of secret information investigation.
There is Trey Gowdy’s Benghazi investigation.
There is obviously some overlap but the two we are most aware of are the email and the Benghazi investigations.
If Trump plays this right, it could unify some of the hesitant people by making them dislike Hillary more than they are uneasy with Trump.
With today’s result, what was to be gained by giving Pagliano immunity?
If the case hinged entirely on intent, what could Pagliano add to the mix that wasn’t already as plain as day?
She’s the new OJ - obviously guilty but let off the hook. I suspect this will hurt her in the long run - there’s a lot of rats that already hate her and long for Bernie’s “honesty”. This won’t get those folks to vote for Jezebel - they KNOW she’s crooked and it was just verified by no less than the FBI. Many of them will vote for Trump in disgust.
If the case hinged entirely on intent, what could Pagliano add to the mix that wasn’t already as plain as day?
There are at least two other ongoing, publicly disclosed FBI investigations into what has been uncovered by investigation of Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.
These investigations have to do much more serious issues and wider scope than the narrow abuse of government documents issues covered by the comparatively narrow scope of the FBI email
“Asinine article.”
Like J. Lott’s Fox article where he basically admitted there are two sets of laws: one set of laws for the `ruling class’ and one for the hoi polloi?
`Lesser lights’ have gone to prison for doing the same things Clinton did. Actions admitted. It’s almost Louis XIVth of them, “you don’t have to like it’ disdainful.
So they’re crowing over this legal travesty? “She should be indicted: here’s why, but she won’t be. Because we’ve taken an imaginative view of black letter law. So there.”
I haven’t been as angry in a long time as I have been all day today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.