Yesterday, attorney general Lynch testified on Capitol Hill and the subjects discussed included the investigation of Hillary Clinton's handling of top secret information on her private and unsecured email server. Lynch stayed as far away from the topic as possible, but she did say a few things that are worth repeating. First of all, Lynch said that the investigation was being handled by FBI agents and DOJ career attorneys. That's new. Previously, we just hear about the FBI. It's been reported in the media that the involvement of the Justice Department attorneys means that the FBI investigation has now advanced to the stage in which the full bag of tricks of the Justice Department is now being used. DOJ can get subpoenas for witnesses regarding both testimony and documents. DOJ is needed to present evidence to a grand jury in order to obtain an indictment. DOJ is needed if low ranking witnesses are being offered a deal in exchange for testimony regarding targets higher up the chain.
No one knows if the DOJ attorneys are being told to advance the investigation or to thwart it, and Lynch certainly did not indicate that either instruction has been given. All that we know is that the process continues to advance. The most bizarre aspect of it all is that the timing is such that we could get to the indictment phase after Hillary has clinched the Democrat nomination. That would leave a majority of the Democrat delegates free to pick whomever they like were Hillary to exit the race and release her delegates. The "trap" of being forced to pick Bernie Sanders would be avoided for the Democrats; they could put up Biden or Kerry or even Warren if they chose to do so.
The reality, however, remains this: Hillary Clinton knowingly set up a system that violated clear federal law regarding the handling of classified materials. A great many people have been prosecuted for things much less serious than she did. She is not above the law and ought not be allowed to use her influence to get away with what certainly appears to be criminal conduct.
No one knows if the DOJ attorneys are being told to advance the investigation or to thwart it, and Lynch certainly did not indicate that either instruction has been given. All that we know is that the process continues to advance. The most bizarre aspect of it all is that the timing is such that we could get to the indictment phase after Hillary has clinched the Democrat nomination. That would leave a majority of the Democrat delegates free to pick whomever they like were Hillary to exit the race and release her delegates. The "trap" of being forced to pick Bernie Sanders would be avoided for the Democrats; they could put up Biden or Kerry or even Warren if they chose to do so.
The reality, however, remains this: Hillary Clinton knowingly set up a system that violated clear federal law regarding the handling of classified materials. A great many people have been prosecuted for things much less serious than she did. She is not above the law and ought not be allowed to use her influence to get away with what certainly appears to be criminal conduct.
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