A Democratic perspective on Hillary's emails

[yallerdawg]

The great nonexistent Hillary email scandal

by Bill Press

Trump and his fellow Clinton haters immediately pounced on the IG report, claiming it disqualifies her from running for president. But not so fast. A more careful reading shows just the opposite. In several respects, the State Department report actually absolves Clinton, rather than condemn her.

The inspector general finds: She was not the first secretary of state to use a private server. So did Colin Powell. Nor did she create the problem. She was just the latest to deal with the State Department's "longstanding, systemic weaknesses" with records that "go well beyond the tenure of any one secretary of state." And, most significantly, the report concludes that, while Clinton did break existing department rules, she did nothing illegal -- which will come as a huge disappointment to all those who were banking on Secretary Clinton's indictment as their sole hope for winning the White House. It's not going to happen.

In other words, while Hillary's setting up her own personal email server was dumb, it was not illegal. She broke the rules, but she did not break the law. She has already released 30,000 emails, and not one bombshell was found in any one of them. Plus, this so-called scandal has now dragged on for almost a year with no smoking gun. It turns out Bernie Sanders was right, last October, when he said: "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your d--ned emails" -- which is why he hasn't talked about them since.

Bottom line: It sounds a lot worse than it is. Gertrude Stein was talking about Oakland, California, when she famously observed: "There's no there, there." She could have been talking about the Hillary email scandal.

[Fikari]

1. We don't know what was found in them yet

The FBI hasn't released that information. They will be the ones who decide whether Hillary did anything illegal. What we do know already suggests that she's in no way suitable for the position of POTUS.

It's kind of scary that Hillary supporters are so deeply in denial about this and aren't aware of the enormous gravity of the situation.

[Lucinda]

2. LOL I don't think that the denial going on, is on the Hillary side of the fence. n/t

[NWCorona]

7. We know Hillary had gamma rated intelligence. Signal, human, satellite data

Not good at all

[lagomorph777]

24. She had access to intelligence

but apparently did not use any intelligence.

[DebDoo]

3. Powell used a private server?

[Alex4Martinez]

6. No, fucking Bill Press doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

Hillary is the only one to use a private server in her private residence inaccessible to oversight.

Fuck Bill Press.

[NWCorona]

9. I'm starting to think that is being used consciously to misinform

[DebDoo]

11. It's easy to lie about things a lot of us don't completely understand. gotta get ahead

Of this "misinformation" before they get to sink in as "fact"

[Alex4Martinez]

15. I'm certain the talking point was distributed "others used private email before me"

nobody is talking about private emails. Hillary and her sycophants have all used that same distraction. I've seen one or two journalists try to nail her on it and she insists on repeating "personal email" and never really responds to the distinction, which is huge.

"it's the server, stupid".

[Iliyah]

8. Yep, so did C. Rice and a few others . .

Home too. But alas, the focus is solely on HRC because the RWers and LWers want her out.

[DebDoo]

10. No, only Clinton set up a private server. Sorry you've been misinformed

[karynnj]

23. Actually neither Rice or Albright used ANY email for SD work per the report.

Kerry used .gov and for occasional email that he received on personal accounts that was SD related, he made sure they were archived.

So, in reality, it is JUST Colin Powell and HRC - and he did not have a private server - just a regular email account.

[Avalux]

26. That's a lie. Neither Powell nor Rice used private email SERVERS.

They used private email accounts; Powell used AOL. The difference? By using her own SERVER and bypassing the government system, there is no audit trail for State Department emails. She had sole control over them.

Quit spreading misinformation.

[ljhog]

28. Wrong conclusion

She broke the law. She lied repeatedly about the emails. And the fact she conducted government business on a secret unsecured private server should disqualify her for the presidency. Let's face the private server was to obscure her doing favors in exchange for "donations" to the Clinton Foundation. She is a traitor and a crook.

[seabeyond]

17. Powell said he did exactly what Clinton did. Nt

[wiggs]

21. Not yet clear...but heard this week that Powell STILL hasn't turned over

ANY emails from some source or another.

How many other department heads, high officials, etc have used private servers in the last 10 years? Not just SOS? Not uncommon, I bet.

[karynnj]

25. The report says that he has turned over no emails

He has not responded to a request that he try to get the decade plus emails from his internet provider if possible. One staffer claims - in the report - that they were told when he was preparing to leave that archiving the email was not needed, but said she did not remember the name of the person who advised them on this. (making it questionable.)

[mcar]

4. K&R

[Iliyah]

5. Bill Press endorsed BS (if that's the same person). Nevertheless,

HRC did nothing wrong. The GOP machine is pushing this with the help of some of the left.

HRC will be the nominee.

[brooklynite]

12. ...and the President

[ucrdem]

13. Same Bill. I guess the winds have changed here in California.

He used to be a wheel in the state party.

[procon]

14. Now Bill Press is officially part of the vast "rigged" system out to get poor Bernie. nt

[Surya Gayatri]

16. And this, from BILL "Bernie's N° 1 Surrogate" PRESS? Oh noes, say it ain't so. Here goes Bill under

that four-wheeled conveyance...

[Iliyah]

18. LOL, yep

Colin Powell admitted to using "private server" but alas, denial is strong with people who hate.

[FourScore]

19. I like Bill Press an awful lot, so it pains me to see him partake in such bad journalism.

1. Only Clinton used a private server. The others used private email addresses.

2. She did break the law, and although the report doesn't come right out and say it -- that's what happened. The State Dept will leave it to DJ and the FBI to say what is illegal and what is legal. They are just reporting their findings within the state dept.

3. She "already released 30,000 emails" because the other 31,000 were DELETED. Since the FBI now has their hands on those deleted emails, we must wait to hear whether or not they were really all about yoga and Chelsea's million dollar wedding or if there was obstruction of justice.

4. So many smart people are just willfullly ignoring the facts in this case. It is very odd.

[wiggs]

20. How unlikely is it that 30,000 emails from ANYONE would yield

no career-ending or highly embarassing statements? That's a buried storyline...30,000 boring, harmless emails from someone doing her job.

I agree with Press, Josh Marshall, and tons of other good democrats that this is a nothingburger fluffed up into something that sounds worse than it is.

[yallerdawg]

22. Nothingburgers --which is and has been the purpose...

of the Benghazi committee, Judicial Watch, and every rightwing think tank for the last three decades!

Get Democrats to buy into the outrageous speculation, innuendo, conspiracy theory, and unfounded conjecture associated with every Democrat who has run - and won - since Watergate!

It is a shame to see that this crap succeeds and creates such discord in our ranks. Just sad.