Hillary Clinton’s e-mails: extremely careless, not criminal (FBI)

Hillary Clinton

The results of the FBI’s in-depth probe of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server during her tenure as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration were released today. The FBI found that though Clinton’s behaviors and practices were extremely careless, they did not rise to the level of criminality. The FBI recommends to federal prosecutors that no charges should be filed.

There was strong push-back from right wing groups and blogs across the internet and throughout the media. Many allege a cover-up, and point to a recent closed meeting between former President Bill Clinton and the current Attorney, General Loretta Lynch, to support their claims. Many also contend that other people in government face legal prosecution for far lesser breaches of security, and ask why should Clinton be any different.

The news is bittersweet for the Clinton campaign. Although a recommendation for indictment would have been devastating for the campaign, the FBI’s characterization of Clinton as “extremely careless” is fodder for her critics, particularly Donald Trump, along with a large array of conservative leaders, journalists, social media activists, and pundits. Now Clinton can move forward with her campaign, but she will likely deal with the fallout from the FBI’s less-than-stellar assessment of her decisions and actions, right up until the general election in November.

Learn more about the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server (CNN)

 

Photo: By Lorie ShaullOwn work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org
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