Dear Commons Community,
The presidential campaign has seen a number of story lines that just won’t go away. One of them is Hillary Clinton’s use of her private email server during her time as secretary of state. Fox News, for instance, raises the issue at least a dozen times a day. A Congressional Committee asked FBI Director, James Comey, to clarify his decision and Comey defended his decision to forgo a criminal case against Hillary Clinton, As reported by The Huffington Post:
“Comey stated he’d cleared Clinton from potential prosecution over her use of a private email server, saying her actions were “extremely careless” but that no “reasonable” prosecutor would pursue the case. Attorney General Loretta Lynch agreed with him on Wednesday. Comey’s most damning finding was that Clinton had more than 100 classified messages on her system, including eight that were deemed “top secret.”
Almost immediately after the announcement, Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) called Thursday’s hearing on the issue.
“We’re here because we’re mystified and confused by the fact pattern you laid out,” Chaffetz said. He added that based on Comey’s facts, if an “average Joe” had done what Clinton did, “they’d be in handcuffs.”
But Comey repeatedly stood by his estimation that there was no case against Clinton under the Espionage Act, which has only been used once in similar circumstances ― ineffectively ― in 99 years…
The FBI director also vigorously rejected suggestions that the White House, the Department of Justice and the FBI had somehow coordinated last week’s events, which included former President Bill Clinton’s meeting with Lynch last Monday, the FBI’s interview of Hillary Clinton on Saturday, and Comey and Lynch’s subsequent announcements…
Several Republicans pointed to those events, but only Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) managed to spark a hint of anger from Comey by bringing up the Tony-winning dance moves in the Broadway show “Hamilton” to insinuate that the FBI and Department of Justice had coordinated the decision.
“It almost looks like a choreography,” Mica said, after asking Comey if he’d seen the Broadway musical. Mica also asked the FBI director to turn over any relevant communications he’d had with the attorney general or Department of Justice for the last 30 days, saying he didn’t know how to explain the chain of events to people in his local cafe who saw them as evidence of collusion to clear Clinton.
“Look me in the eye, and listen to what I’m about to say,” Comey retorted. “I did not coordinate that with anyone ― the White House, the Department of Justice. Nobody outside the FBI family had any idea what I was about to say. I’d say that under oath, I’d stand by that.”
The article provides further particulars on Comey’s decision. For most of Clinton’s supporters, it is a non-issue. For her detractors, it is high treason.
Tony
