Hillary Clinton's staffer who set up and maintained her private unsecured email system has taken his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination; the world knows that. What has been unclear is the reason why this staffer would fear criminal indictment. The logical answer is that he knew that he was setting up an unsecured system which Hillary used for sensitive information. That would make him someone who aided and abetted violation of the laws regarding national secrets; by itself his conduct would then be a federal crime. Of course, the Clintons cannot have that story continue to make the rounds, so now we have a new one. That Washington Post is reporting today that Hillary Clinton herself paid the staffer for his work on the server and the email system. The staffer, however, supposedly did not report this extra income (said to total $5000) on his financial disclosures that he was required to file with the State Department each year. Get it? The staffer is taking the Fifth because he doesn't want to admit that he filed incorrect forms with the State Department. And according to the Washington Post, who do you think "confirmed" this story? Of course, it was the Clinton campaign.
What does all this mean? In a nutshell, it means that Hillary's people are now so upset by the email story that they are concocting back stories for facts that are in the public knowledge. Hillary's staffer pleads the Fifth? No problem, they say, he is just covering up his own failure to file financial disclosure forms. Of course, this new back story is very unconvincing. After all, the Clinton campaign has now confirmed that the staffer worked on the side for Hillary, got paid for his work (probably by the Clinton Foundation, if I know my Clintons) and never filed the required disclosures with the State Department. There is no need for the staffer to testify about anything about that story. All the facts are already there. By pleading the Fifth, the staffer just takes away his ability to explain how this all came about; in other words, without his testimony he cannot claim that it was an inadvertent oversight, that most Clintonian of events.
No, the Clinton attempt to expand the cover story will not work. Indeed, it just makes the whole mess worse for me. Why would Hillary pay a staffer off the State Department books to set up an email system for the Secretary of State. If that email system were proper (which it wasn't), wouldn't the State Department budget clearly cover such an expenditure. Remember, when this system was set up, Hillary by her own claim was "dead broke". So why is she using Clinton money rather than State Department funds to set up her supposedly "completely proper" email system? And let's take it one step further. Hillary knows that absent special filings and approvals State Department employee, like other government employees, cannot do private work on the side. Why was it so important to Hillary to get her email system set up on the sly? Why didn't she follow the personnel rules she was supposed to enforce? The answers are not good ones for Mrs. Clinton.
What does all this mean? In a nutshell, it means that Hillary's people are now so upset by the email story that they are concocting back stories for facts that are in the public knowledge. Hillary's staffer pleads the Fifth? No problem, they say, he is just covering up his own failure to file financial disclosure forms. Of course, this new back story is very unconvincing. After all, the Clinton campaign has now confirmed that the staffer worked on the side for Hillary, got paid for his work (probably by the Clinton Foundation, if I know my Clintons) and never filed the required disclosures with the State Department. There is no need for the staffer to testify about anything about that story. All the facts are already there. By pleading the Fifth, the staffer just takes away his ability to explain how this all came about; in other words, without his testimony he cannot claim that it was an inadvertent oversight, that most Clintonian of events.
No, the Clinton attempt to expand the cover story will not work. Indeed, it just makes the whole mess worse for me. Why would Hillary pay a staffer off the State Department books to set up an email system for the Secretary of State. If that email system were proper (which it wasn't), wouldn't the State Department budget clearly cover such an expenditure. Remember, when this system was set up, Hillary by her own claim was "dead broke". So why is she using Clinton money rather than State Department funds to set up her supposedly "completely proper" email system? And let's take it one step further. Hillary knows that absent special filings and approvals State Department employee, like other government employees, cannot do private work on the side. Why was it so important to Hillary to get her email system set up on the sly? Why didn't she follow the personnel rules she was supposed to enforce? The answers are not good ones for Mrs. Clinton.
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