On Tuesday, FBI Director James Comey announced the results of their investigation into the Clinton email scandal. The results, while predictable, are nothing short of a kick in the teeth of Americans.
After admitting Clinton broke several laws, Comey announced their decision not to charge her.
“Although the Department of Justice makes final decisions on matters like this, we are expressing to Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case,” Comey said Tuesday.
Before the kick in the teeth, Comey detailed the list of criminal activity of America’s likely president to be.
“Seven email chains concerned matters that were classified at the TOP SECRET SPECIAL ACCESS program at the time they were sent and received,” Comey said, admitting Clinton broke the law. “There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position or the position of who she was corresponding about those matters should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that information. In addition to this information, we also found information that was classified as SECRET by the US intelligence community.
“We do assess that Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal email domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent. She also used her personal email server while outside of the United States…including sending work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries.
“We assess that it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s person email account,” Comey noted.
Comey then contradicted himself and explained that they found the actions by Clinton to be “extremely careless,” but noted they had no evidence they intended to break the law.
Knowing that she was transmitting TOP SECRET information on an unsecured server is, in fact, a violation of multiple laws.
Violation of 18 U.S. Code § 798 — disclosure of classified information applies to Clinton as her knowledge of the unsecured server allowed for her to “knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person” classified information. Someone guilty of this crime “shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both,” under the law.
Anther law, 18 USC 793 — gathering, transmitting or losing defense information also carries a penalty of an unspecified fine or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both.
Both 793 and 798 fall under the broader 1917 Espionage Act.
To highlight the special treatment of Clinton in this matter, below are two recent cases as pointed out in a recent article.
Bryan Nishimura, a California Naval reservist, was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $7,500 fine after he pleaded guilty to removing classified material and downloading it to a personal electronic device. The FBI found no evidence he planned to distribute the material.
Bronze Star recipient and combat veteran Chief Petty Officer Lyle White pleaded guilty to storing classified documents on a nonsecure hard drive in Virginia. He received a suspended 60-day sentence and a suspended $10,000 fine in return for the plea. White said the information was for training purposes to study and that he had no intent to communicate with anyone.
While neither of these to men received jail time for their acts, they were both officially charged and convicted — and their crimes are far less grave than Clinton’s.
What this announcement by the FBI highlights is the farce of justice in America. Clinton is far too well-connected to be charged by her far too well-connected friends — in spite of glaring violations.
In the land of the free, there are two sets of legal systems — one for those who make and enforce the laws and one for the poor souls who are forced to obey them, no matter how immoral.
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