Just a note, the only real discussions on this matter, from MSNBC happened last Thursday. This is a really balanced discussion with both pros and cons with regard to the legal implications of the current FBI investigation.
I know that some of you don’t want to see this information. I am posting it for the some of you who do want to know what the reality of the potential laws and implications are to the coming election.
In this video, the first discussion involves the potential crimes that may be under investigation. The former DA that they interviewed is not a Clinton supporter but his comments are balanced and thorough. It starts at minute 6 and lasts through minute 11:30.
The more thorough discussion with both supporters, neutral and (scarborough) opponents of Clinton happens at time 22:50 and lasts through the end of the segment.
Interestingly, around time 37:40 the tables are flipped and Mika is having a meltdown and Joe Scarborough actually defends Clinton!
here is the video from last Thursday
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My take:
The list of actual issues being investigated are:
1. There is a law that says you cannot take classified information and put it into a non-classified setting
2. You cannot expose national secrets through gross negligence
3. You cannot destroy government information
4. You cannot obstruct an investigation
Contrary to some information posted here, the lack of evidence that the personal server was hacked is a non-issue and irrelevant to the legal investigation. The legal issue here is the fact that some of the information found on the server was taken from a system called SIPRnet (Secret Internet Protocol Router — net).
Some of the safeguards protecting SIPRnet are:
Again in theory, any memory stick or CD connected to a computer with Siprnet access must automatically be labelled secret and stored securely. If a personal device such as an iPod is connected it can be confiscated. In practice these multiple layers of security were relaxed to make the system as easy to use as possible
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However, this is not what troubles me the most.
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What troubles me the most is the fact that this is an ongoing investigation involving over 100 FBI agents, and that this investigation can be directly attributed already to the slide in Hillary Clinton’s Favorable/Unfavorable poll values as well as her “Honest and Trustworthy” ratings.
This is before the $400,000,000 ad buy that will occur PRIMARILY FOCUSING on this issue by right-wing financiers.
The optics of this are already horrible and have been playing directly into the Right’s meme of over 30 years that include such unsavory tidbits as the Lincoln Bedroom fundraising scandal and the presidential pardon of Marc Rich.
however this is not the worst of what troubles me. What really troubles me is that this has every indication of a Public Corruption investigation. This has every indication that it is the result of a Federal Grand Jury probe.
“You can assume that there’s a grand jury,” said Troy A. Eid, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. “You don’t go out and investigate unless you’ve got a grand jury because there’s no authority to do subpoenas or compel people to do anything. With immunity agreements, that means by definition that there’s a grand jury investigation that’s going on some place.”
If it is indeed a public corruption probe, not listed in the above discussion, then even the appearance of such a probe would destroy any chance of Clinton attaining the whitehouse in the general election.
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But what would the public corruption probe entail if it is indeed one?
The only answer would be a dovetail between the private server, the recovered “private” emails (of which there were approximately 30,000) and the donations of sovereign money to the Clinton Foundation by foreign governments who had business before the U.S. State Department while Clinton was Secretary of State.
Again, let me be clear:
There is significant indication that this investigation has dovetailed into a public corruption investigation being directed by a Federal Grand jury that is looking into the potential for quid-pro-quo between sovereign foreign governments and their donations to the Clinton Foundation while having business before the U.S. State Department.
If this is the case, then the Clinton candidacy is already over and you just don’t know it yet.
This is why it is important to keep your options open.
Even so, even if there is NO public corruption investigation, the simple OPTICS of the following is going to be impossible for Hillary Clinton to overcome in the General Election.
Please watch the full clip below. Remember, these people are ardent Clinton supporters, none more aggressive than Chris Matthews. (note: the following video is from February of last year)
I know many of you will write this off. That’s ok if you do, I don’t expect many here to be realistic when considering the real problems that an HRC nomination will face. I just wanted to get the record clear, get it out there and let you know what is going on in the last vestiges of the “Reality Based” community.
Good Luck!