Why is Bill Clinton bearing all of the blame for Bogus TarmacGate?

[EffieBlack]

He didn't meet with himself. He met with the Attorney General. On her plane. Unless he stormed the plane and forced her to talk to him, the AG was just as involved in and culpable for this encounter as he was. So why is everyone screaming about him and not saying anything about her role in it?

Let's be clear - I don't think either of them did anything wrong. Not even close. But if this was such a breach of ethics, shouldn't the public official who is actually bound by the ethics laws and rules also be criticized? Shouldn't someone on her staff have protected her from this situation by advising her not to talk with him?

Bill Clinton is a private citizen - why is HE bearing the brunt of all of this?

Could it be because folks know that she did nothing wrong and, by extension, neither did he - but that would screw up the "another example of how corrupt the Clintons supposedly are" narrative? And what a great way to try to intimidate DOJ into going out of its way to hammer Hillary in order to prove how impartial they are (a gambit that only Democrats seem to fall for time after time after time).

[fun n serious]

1. He met with Ted Cruz too

when they were on the same tarmac.. It's his custom.

[NWCorona]

2. The both are equally to blame.

Loretta should have rebuffed Bill.

[Silver_Witch]

3. Bill Clinton is not a "private citizen" he is a former President. N/T

[EffieBlack]

5. He is a private citizen - he is not a government official and is not bound by government

ethics rules, unlike the Attorney General. He's free to talk to anyone he wants.

[choie]

6. He's a former president and the

Husband of somebody who is being investigated by the DOJ. He should have known better.

[MohRokTah]

13. .

[EffieBlack]

21. If this was such a problem, the DOJ staff traveling with the AG should have kept the meeting from

happening. That's part of their job.

[MrTriumph]

57. The staff takes direction from the boss. Not the

other way around.

[choie]

75. No, Mr. Clinton should have known better...

but rules don't apply to him, at least in his mind.

[Silver_Witch]

27. He is a government official.

He has a squad of secret service, represnts the US as a dignitary at international events and gets a super fab pension yearly for his service! These are facts. No ex-President is a private DU citizen.

Whether what he did is inappropriate is an interesting question. As a former President he should have known better but he feels entitled to do as he chooses so he does! No sweat.

Personally I think the email thing is just hot air and silly. Rich and entitled do as they want. Who are we to judge them eh?

It seems to get a lot of attention so maybe the Clinton's feel feeding the scandal helps them some how. Not sure why. Just seems like a waste of time like Benghazi silly waste of valuable time. But I guess it give the Republicans an excuse for not doing any real work!

[EffieBlack]

30. No, he is not a government official.

He is a private citizen. He represents the U.S. as a dignitary when asked by the government to do so on its behalf.

No matter how many times you try to claim otherwise, former presidents are private citizens. Period.

[JTFrog]

41. What is a private DU citizen? N/T

[floriduck]

63. How many private citizens get Secret Service protection? I want one of those too.

[pnwmom]

69. Lots of them. Any Presidential children; and all the ex-Presidents, and their wives. n/t

[pnwmom]

68. Former Presidents are by definition "former." He's a private citizen now. n/t

[gordianot]

76. He also gets secret security briefings.

He was and is privy to the deepest secrets of the Federal State. He and his family are in constant danger as long as he draws a breath. Private citizen maybe.

[JoePhilly]

4. Just something for the Combustible Hair Club to scream about.

[spooky3]

19. Lol!

[BlueCaliDem]

51. Yep.

[Else You Are Mad]

79. For those gifs alone, this is the best post in all of these tarmac-gate posts. Nt.

[BlueMTexpat]

82. I heartily second this post! eom

[BlueMTexpat]

81. Love your expression!

I saw it in another thread and liked it then too. It certainly fits.

[morningfog]

7. He practically ambushed her. He waited on the tarmac when he found out she would be landing there.

He boarded the plane uninvited and unannounced.

[EffieBlack]

9. Bullshit

NO one AMBUSHES the Attorney General's plane, even a former President.

[morningfog]

11. He wasn't stopped, she didn't know he was coming on.

Lynch's FBI security detail did not stop Clinton and he proceeded to initiate an extended conversation that included discussion of grandchildren. Lynch was surprised to see Clinton walking onto her plane, the official said, and no Justice Department business was discussed.

Speaking at a news conference in Phoenix on Tuesday, Lynch confirmed the meeting and denied the two spoke about any matter pending before the Justice Department or the Benghazi probe. She also said the former president "did not raise anything" about an ongoing case or anything of that nature.

"I did see President Clinton at the Phoenix airport as he was leaving and spoke to myself and my husband on the plane," Lynch said according to CNN affiliate KNXV/ABC15. "Our conversation was a great deal about grandchildren, it was primarily social about our travels and he mentioned golf he played in Phoenix."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/29/politics/bill-clinton-loretta-lynch/

[EffieBlack]

20. "He wasn't stopped" by security is a far cry from "he practically ambushed the plane"

The AG is surrounded by staff and security on her plane. People don't just get on the plane and hang out with her unless they let them. Security takes their cues from the staff - if there's no reason to believe there's a security risk, and the staff agrees that someone should board, security won't stop them. At any point before Clinton got anywhere near the Attorney General on the plane, they could have stopped him. And if chose not to and he got to her, the AG could have simply told him that it would not be appropriate for her to meet with him. Instead, she sat down with him and chatted for 30 minutes.

The "ambush" scenario is colorful but it is, as I said, pure BS. If she felt "ambushed" at all - which she clearly didn't - that was purely her own staff's fault.

[Exilednight]

49. Have you ever been in a room when a former president shows up?

Last edited Fri Jul 1, 2016, 03:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Here's how it goes down.

1. The Secret Service show up first and flash badges and don't answer questions.

2. They check the area for anyone or anything that could be a threat to their charge.

3. The president walks in unannounced.

It's all for his security.

[Evergreen Emerald]

23. hahahaha--I heard from Fox News that this was a planned meeting

so they could "coincidentally" run into each other because, ya know..meeting in the middle of daylight in public is the best way to secretly meet to discuss improper plans. Why use the phone? Why meet in private?


I also heard that his plane followed hers across the US so he could ambush her. It was a planned attack done in broad daylight because he is soo soo sneaky.

Bunch of BS.

[okieinpain]

36. +1 n/t.

[grossproffit]

60. Thankfully it wasn't the Pope.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. i love everyone knows legal ethics far better than the AG

people are dumb af, yet think no end of themselves.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. Very precious of them

Morning Joe was a clusterfuck on this issue.

[EffieBlack]

14. Interestingly, Chuck Todd tried to put it into perspective and Scarborough just shouted him down

[JustAnotherGen]

39. Yeah because

Joe is such a stellar example of ethics and honesty.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

15. democrats are just as dumb about this. the same week Gowdy finds nothing on Benghazi after spending

millions, this new thing is trumped up and democrats follow republicans like lemmings

[morningfog]

12. The AG did nothing wrong. Bill used poor judgment, but no ethics violation, as far as we know.

[EffieBlack]

22. The AG allowed the meeting to happen. She's just as culpable as he is - probably more

since SHE's the government official. She's not some helpless kid at the mercy of Big Bad Bill. Her staff should have not let him on the plane and not allowed the meeting to happen. Staffs do that all the time. That's one of the reasons they are there.

[monmouth4]

46. Oh please, who is going to tell Bill he cannot do something? He's special, he was a US President,

he can even bring a bullhorn to a polling place without consequences. I think he may have bullied her but who knows? None of us know exactly what happened or what was said.

[razorman]

48. Regardless of what was, or was not, discussed, there was,

"The appearance of impropriety". They should not have had the meeting, considering that both he and his wife are currently under investigation. I suspect, though, that this might have been deliberate on the part of the AG. It may be a "Pontius Pilate-type" washing of her hands, in order to distance herself from whatever results from the FBI report. At any rate, I do not put much stock in media reports for the first 48 hours or so. We still to not know all the facts.

[Chasstev365]

58. Yeah: that seems to just keep happening with the Clintons!

Nothing illegal, so we can excuse it yet again!

[Chasstev365]

80. Are you calling me a right wing asshole?

Is anyone who criticizes the Clintons a right wing asshole? Seriously, I want to know!

[treestar]

44. Exactly, it is ignorance

being used to make something look bad that isn't.

[Jester Messiah]

16. Because it was a stupid thing for him to do...?

I mean, just at a guess. Even if his intentions were pure as the driven snow, the optics are fucking terrible.

[Protalker]

34. He is a Yale trained attorney

I am a Clinton supporter.

[JudyM]

47. And well schooled in administrative law and ethics, as well. If he wasn't drunk he would've had

bright warning lights flashing in his head.

[okieinpain]

38. +1 n/t.

[Cosmocat]

71. I really don't see how people can't get this

Yeah, it was almost assuredly a benign discussion, but Christ almighty was it stupid.

[randr]

17. Has he made any poor decisions in the past that may question his judgement?

Is he smart enough to know how this would play out given the circumstances?

[treestar]

18. Preach!!

It is ridiculous, just plain excuses to attempt trashing people they don't like.

[MohRokTah]

24. Because the extreme right and the extreme left both despise Bill Clinton. eom

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. " And what a great way to try to intimidate DOJ..."

And what a great way to try to intimidate DOJ into going out of its way to hammer Hillary in order to prove how impartial they are (a gambit that only Democrats seem to fall for time after time after time).

[stonecutter357]

26. it's just RWNJ Hysterics.

[Doodley]

28. Another non-story turned into a major scandal

[Her Sister]

29. I'm voting for HRC in November!

With Her all the way to the White House!

[Darb]

31. I know my panties are all wadded up.

Not really.

[seabeyond]

32. I am just trying to figure out if I am suppose to be outraged, or if this is just another game so

many play when it comes to the Clintons and the Democrats as a whole. Kinda like literally ALL the other shit thrown at them.

[JustAnotherGen]

52. It's a game sea

Seriously. If you were going to engage in covert subversive shenanigans - would you do it in broad daylight in front of the press?

It makes no sense. No sense at all.

[seabeyond]

67. In arrogance, sometimes something is done without thought. I am pretty damn sure it is not

about "covert subversive shenanigans", seeing how the whole email issues against Clitnon is bogus anyway and I do not think she is all that concerned about it, nor is the Democratic party.

I am simply trying to discern if there is any issue meeting up with the woman out of courtesy, when there is an investigation.

Man, I am so damn fair, I will even call Bill out if that is the case. I am not convinced that he has even stepped over any imaginary line yet. But hey... If he did, I will be all over it. I assure you, Lol.

[Uponthegears]

33. Better question

Why is ANYONE bearing ANY blame for a meeting which would have been perfectly appropriate EVEN IF Secretary Clinton (or, for that matter, Bill himself) was "under investigation" (which they are not)?

[tonyt53]

35. His last name is Clinton.

[GeorgeGist]

37. I agree ...

they were both incredibly foolish.

[DemonGoddess]

42. Because of this:

Could it be because folks know that she did nothing wrong and, by extension, neither did he - but that would screw up the "another example of how corrupt the Clintons supposedly are" narrative? And what a great way to try to intimidate DOJ into going out of its way to hammer Hillary in order to prove how impartial they are (a gambit that only Democrats seem to fall for time after time after time).

Astute observation on your part!

[jalan48]

43. He stormed polling places during the primaries, this is how he rolls.

[NorthCarolina]

45. I suspect he was hoping to set case for her recusal since it is my understanding that he

is named as a person of interest in the email case. The fact that she met with him is probably adequate for his efforts to be successful.

[emulatorloo]

56. Link? To WJC being a "person of interest" in the 'email case'?

Op-eds and/or wingnut blogs and websites don't count.

[pnwmom]

70. Your understanding must be based on RW sources because no reliable source

has reported that Bill or Hillary has been named as a "person of interest."

[Vinca]

50. Because he walked over to her plane, she didn't walk over to his.

I don't see why Lynch is taking any heat on this at all. She didn't ask him to wander across the tarmac and schmooze. Bill Clinton might be a private citizen, but the server and emails were located in his house and it's his wife who is the subject of the inquiry. He should have known this would be like batting a hornet's nest.

[still_one]

53. It isn't so much that anything wrong was done, it gives the appearance of an impropriety. I don't

believe this was a planned meeting, but I do believe Bill Clinton should have no better. I think the AG was taken off guard. I put most of the unnecessary bullshit speculation about this on Bill Clinton.

[Politicalboi]

54. They're both guilty

He waited for her so he could talk to her. This is such bullshit, but we're supposed to keep our mouths shut because we may say the wrong truth someone might not like to hear. Poor cry babies.

[CrowCityDem]

55. There is a persistent, unquantifiable, hatred of everything Clinton.

[NCTraveler]

59. CDS. It's real. nt.

[msanthrope]

64. The Clenis drives them mad. nt

[DemonGoddess]

65. bwahahahaha

too true!

[giftedgirl77]

61. Because it was a Clinton & everything they do causes

an uncontrollable outrage from both the far left & right?

[aikoaiko]

62. He's bearing the brunt because he initiated it, but she is to blame, too.

She's had to answer for it and there will be calls for her to recuse herself.

[phleshdef]

66. When it comes down to it, this is why many of us have been leery of Clinton presidential ambitions.

The political baggage isn't just all GOP bullshit. About half of it is, but the other half is self inflicted.

[Cosmocat]

72. Because he should

I am 100 percent behind Hillary and I like Bill a lot, though this is part of what comes with him.

AND, I am almost positive it was a benign discussion.

But, Hillary has been REALLY sharp for a few weeks, so sharp the jackass press hasn't been able to gin up any bullshit on her.

This incident was Bill going out of his way to serve one up.

Yeah, the moment she heard he was coming or he walked in, sure, she should have said, Bill, we can talk some other time, but this is not a good idea and you have to leave.

But, he is the one who thought to do it, he is the one who went to her, it is his god darned wife he jacked up over it, for no reason other than a complete and total brain fart, a wet one at that.

[John Poet]

73. BAD OPTICS, BILL !!!

I'm sure there was nothing improper.

I'm also sure, it looks improper.

[Hekate]

74. He's not. The GOP is using this as an excuse to try to force the AG to quit.

Their concern for ethics is soooooooo touching.

[PdxSean]

78. A teachable moment?

Bill isn't some naive kid. His wife is running for President. He's knows first-hand the politics of hate from the right, and he's unnecessarily feeding them ammo.

I don't know how easy it would be for an AG to tell Bill to leave, especially if it was an innocent, friendly meeting as described. Regardless, Bill has been in presidential politics much longer than Lynch.

Everything Bill does, says or touches will affect Hillary. It isn't fair to Hillary, but that's the reality. Bill can't just be Bill anymore if he is going to be supportive of Hillary's run for the presidency. For phuq's sake, Bill must start asking "Can this hurt Hillary?" BEFORE he acts.

There's no need for hate in either direction. It's a teachable moment for everyone. Bill and Lynch can do palm slaps to the forehead, and Hillary can start doing whatever it is she will need to do with Bill while she's in the Whitehouse.

[libdem4life]

83. Bill appointed her when he was President. That's significant, IMO.