FBI Chief Is WILD CARD For Clinton

[Segami]

FBI Director James Comey is the pivotal figure in the 2016 presidential race that no one is talking about. Comey, a Republican appointed by President Obama who enjoys a stellar reputation on both sides of the aisle, is investigating Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of State. Clinton is the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination next year and is expected to be a tough candidate for any Republican to face in 2016. Yet the controversy surrounding her private email account remains an Achilles’ heel. The GOP-created House Benghazi Committee flopped in October when Clinton testified for 11 hours. That hearing failed to produce anything newsworthy about her use of a private server and attracted criticism from liberals and conservatives alike. Its failure makes it clear that the FBI will have the final say on whether Clinton did anything wrong or illegal. And whatever the verdict is, both parties will have to accept it because Comey is, in many ways, untouchable.

~snip~

It’s the moment that made Comey’s reputation and underlines why Republicans and Democrats expect he’ll call the Clinton email investigation as he sees it, no matter the political stakes. “My folks don’t give a rip about politics,” the 6-foot-8-inch Comey said earlier this year. “We’re competent, we’re independent and we’re honest.” Comey donated to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in his 2008 run for the White House and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in his 2012 bid for the GOP nomination, but Obama still reportedly considered asking him to serve on the Supreme Court before tapping him for the FBI instead. Since then, Comey has broken with Obama on a host of issues.

~snip~

In 2004, Comey was a major player in investigating the mishandling of classified information by former President Bill Clinton’s national security adviser, Sandy Berger. “We take issues of classified information very, very seriously,” Comey told reporters at the time. “It’s our lifeblood, those secrets.” It’s unclear what exactly the FBI is reviewing regarding Hillary Clinton’s emails or when the agency will release its findings. Comey has only said he is briefed regularly and following the case closely. The FBI and Clinton campaign declined to comment for this column. There have been a number of leaks to the press on the FBI’s probe, such as in September when the agency reportedly uncovered emails from Clinton’s private server that were thought to have been deleted. After Obama said this fall that he didn’t think Clinton’s email system posed a national security problem, The New York Times reported that FBI agents were “angered” that the commander in chief would comment on an ongoing investigation. The White House walked back Obama’s comments.

~snip~

Some political observers believe that should the FBI find something incriminating against Clinton, the Democratic Party would seek out another standard-bearer such as Vice President Biden, former Vice President Al Gore or Secretary of State John Kerry. Many establishment Democrats don’t believe Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would be a viable nominee in the general election. But such a move wouldn’t be easy. In a recent white paper published by the Brookings Institution, Elaine Kamarck and Ashley Gabriele point out that in order to secure the Democratic nomination, the winning candidate must be on ballots. They wrote, “A candidate who is not on a primary ballot can’t win delegates from that state — pure and simple. ... The candidate who has missed filing deadlines through the end of January has potentially forfeited 2,232 delegates, the number to win the Democratic nomination!”



cont'

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/261582-fbi-chief-is-wild-card-for-clinton

[Segami]

1. "...These bylaws mean..

"...that Democrats will likely go into the general election with Clinton as their nominee. But what the FBI concludes will have a major impact on her chances to become the nation’s 45th president...."

[HerbChestnut]

2. Talk about a roll of the dice...

[Segami]

4. Nobody here knows

what this FBI investigation will uncover, where it will lead and WHO (if any) will be charged.


What will happen to Hillary's support?

[jwirr]

11. I am more interested if she gets nominated and then they

find something. Has that ever happened in a presidential race before and does that mean that the Rs automatically win?

[Segami]

14. Now that would definitely be disastrous....

Thats a good thread question to pose.

[jwirr]

15. That would be a disaster.

[leveymg]

42. It's up to the AG whether to convene a Grand Jury to indict her.

If Comey wants to give up his appointment as FBI Director and come out publicly in favor of indictment, he is free to enjoy retirement. Other than some shocking triumph of principle, I think this is going to go the way of the similar matter of former CIA Director John Deutch who plugged his laptop containing classified materials into the web to view adult video. The Office of Information Security referred the matter to the FBI, and Attorney General Reno sat on the matter until the last day of the Clinton Presidency, when Bill pardoned Deutch.

[CharlotteVale]

3. WTF?! Obama considered a REPUBLICAN for the Supreme Court?!

Given so many of his horrible cabinet picks, this shouldn't surprise me, but isn't the Supreme Court the #1 reason given for why we should vote no matter what?

So much for that. Can't even count on a Democrat to consider only Democrats.

[jeff47]

6. Just remember this every time someone says "Vote Democratic because of SCOTUS!!!" (nt)

[CharlotteVale]

8. Oh, I will. I couldn't forget this if I tried.

[arcane1]

7. He kept Bush's defense secretary too, for a couple of years.

And of course there was the choice of Rick Warren for the inaugural prayer.

Now go eat your peas!

[Segami]

9. That Rick Warren move was a big WTF moment for me...

And I'll say it again.....

[CharlotteVale]

12. He disillusioned me from the get go with Rick Warren.

But I guess I thought there were depths even he wouldn't stoop to, like considering a Republican for the Supreme Court. I should have known better.

[arcane1]

13. Further evidence that "Democrat" and "Progressive" aren't the same word.

Something to remember when the "He/she's not really a Democrat" crowd speaks.

[LiberalArkie]

31. It was the Rick Warren that made me say WTF and then came RAHM the Great.

[merrily]

32. So much for Merry Supreme Court and Happy President Cruz, eh?

Cass Sunstein or a Republican. Either way....

Meanwhile, two out of the three most liberal Justices on the SCOTUS ever were nominated by Eisenhower and Ford. Breyer and Kagan, meh.

[dsc]

39. I have googled and there is nothing at all about him doing this

no reports at all. It wasn't mentioned on Comey's Wiki, it wasn't mentioned in the NYT report of his being named director of the FBI. Nothing at all. BTW it should be noted that Brennan, Warren, and Blackman were all Republicans and fine justices.

[Jarqui]

5. According to the audio on that link

8,000 pages were released yesterday. 2/3rd have now been releases. Two more batches at the end of December and end of January are to come.

So we'll have time to deal with anything controversial long before the primary is over from the email releases.

Also with that timing, given they will have established they've got through all the emails, if the FBI is going to do anything, it should also take place long before the primary is over.

Didn't want the other shoe to drop in the general election ...

[askew]

16. That isn't true. We have no way of knowing when the FBI will bring charges.

It could be in the general election.

There is also an active IG investigation and a Senate investigation which we don't know when they will be resolved.

There are also multiple ongoing lawsuits with emails from her staffers and State Dept that will be released throughout 2016 and could be released in general election.

That's not to mention the fact that if the FBI manages to recover her deleted emails, they could turn them over to State and we could see those emails released as well.

As of right now, we only have Hillary's word that the emails she deleted were personal. Unfortunately, that has already been proven false as the Benghazi Committee and the WH released emails between Hillary and others that were not turned over to State.

It is a huge mistake to nominate a candidate with these issues hanging over their head. We have 2 better candidates to choose from who are not scandal plagued.

[Jarqui]

23. "it should also" is not definite -it's a statement of probability meaning it probably will come true

Given what charges would do to her candidacy/the democratic process for elections and the country, with them through the emails by the end of January, the FBI are very unlikely to wait until the general election is underway to charge her. They're already been through two thirds of her emails. There's no need to wait if they found criminal wrong doing. They can always add to the charges later. (Something like that would probably leak anyway)

FOIA's for Donald Trump (samples - not a complete list)
http://images.politico.com/global/2015/07/17/ab21_faa_trump_foia_1_1.pdf
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/donald-trump-fbi-communications-19706/
http://time.com/money/4010695/trump-university-scam-donald-trump/

Other candidates have potential email problems
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/07/jeb-bush-scott-walker-hillary-clinton-private-emails

Someone FOIA fishing for Rubio documents
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1507/ML15079A108.pdf

Crux, Bush, Rubio & Clinton February FOIAs
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/chief-foia-weekly-reports-%20march-2015.pdf

Didn't find any FOIAs on Bernie but that doesn't mean they're not out there.

The point of the above is they're all under some scrutiny. I'd concede with all of Hillary's emails out there, she's probably guaranteed some trouble - maybe not from the FBI or from the government investigations - but maybe, simply from from the GOP using the emails to infer bad things - the email gives their video some credible basis to spin BS from. They have tens of thousands to pick from. And therefore, Hillary is a higher risk. And I'd also concede with all of them, that the best time to nuke them with bad news is when they're in the general. But I do not see the FBI doing that. Could see the Senate investigation trying for that.

[jwirr]

10. I think that the FBI is also looking into the corrected tax

forms from the Foundation. The Clinton's said it was a mistake but there are some real questions around why it took them so long to correct the forms. Oops it was the IRS that are looking into the corrected forms.

[askew]

17. There is also an ongoing IG investigation and the Senate investigation.

The Senate investigation is looking into who is paying the legal bills for Hillary's server companies and her ex-IT staffer. If any of that money came out of her campaign, it is going to get ugly fast.

[merrily]

34. Who does't occasionally make the mistake of writing 0.00 rather than $10,000,000.00?

I ask you.

[Segami]

37. Blame it on carpal tunnel....

so I missed a few digits.....

[merrily]

38. Do they not have an accountant prepare their taxes?

The bigger issue, though, is whether donors got favored status from State or any other government agency as a result of the donations. (I hope they don't look only at State.)

[jwirr]

46. What I read is that they were using some really small firm

from Arkansas and after the error was made they had to go to another accountant firm. No doubt they are correct now but why was this kind of correction needed.

[jwirr]

45. LOL and it was over at least 4 years.

[Metric System]

18. Threads like this and the familiar names really make me question the motives of some "supporters"

of Bernie Sanders. It's as if some of you are hiding under that umbrella. Note: This is NOT about the majority of Sanders supporters, but rather a select few.

[Ed Suspicious]

30. Never about the candidates, always about the supporters.

[grasswire]

44. how do you feel about the information in the article?

Is it untrue?

[pa28]

19. So it'll be up to a Republican to recommend indictment of our likely candidate.

Nothing could possibly go wrong there . . .

[hill2016]

20. FBI doesn't charge

only the Attorney-General can.

And a jury would have the final say.

[MaggieD]

22. Well she has done nothing illegal

So to me this sounds like Bernie supporters in desperation. It's their only hope, it appears. They will be sadly disappointed.

[Laser102]

35. I'm thinking Obama may have input as well. There is no way he wants a repug in the White House.

[MaggieD]

21. More fake smears

Whatever.

I only have one question - is Bernie such as bad choice that he can't win without all the fake smears? I know that is true of the GOP, but why from the Bernie crowd, who all think he is awesome?

[Major Hogwash]

24. "The White House walked back Obama’s comments."

Not even the President can intervene in an investigation by the FBI.

[AtomicKitten]

25. I would hope the FBI would make a determination sooner than later.

A last minute bombshell would be devastating to the party.

[hrmjustin]

26. Don't get yourself too excited over this.

[JoePhilly]

27. Not this RW wet dream again.

[jalan48]

28. I don't see anyone in the Obama administration going after Hillary.

If there happens to be damaging information the investigation will be put off until after the election. Obama declined, along with Pelosi to go after Bush and Cheney on war crimes and that really was a big deal.

[merrily]

36. But did go after John Edwards while his family was in mourning!

For getting money from a doting billionairess whose financial advisors knew exactly what it was for. Meanwhile, McCain was allowed just to write out a check to the FEC. Unreal

[rpannier]

29. Comey is Untouchable!!! Bwahahahaha!!!

The writer has not been paying attention to Republicans over the past decade.
No one is untouchable to their spinmeisters and teahadists

They'll claim he's not a real conservative, that he's compromised or that he has been paid off

[ejbr]

33. New world order

The powerful do not go after the powerful

[Karma13612]

40. If anything was to come of the FBI investigation

and it happened during the primary season, I guess it is business as usual with Hillary doing the right thing (dropping out of the race).

If she is the nominee, and if anything is unearthed, then wouldn't it mean the nomination has to go to the next candidate? I dare say it better not go to Hillary's VP unless it is either Bernie or Elizabeth Warren.

Interesting question.


Sigh

[in_cog_ni_to]

41. Bush’s warrantless domestic spying efforts were temporarily suspended after then-acting Attorney

General James Comey refused to sign on to an extension of the program “amid concerns about its legality and oversight.”

Remember that? I DO! Comey had to race Gonzales and Card to Ashcroft's hospital bed to inform him of how ILLEGAL the Domestic Spying program was. He beat Gonzales there and Ashcroft refused to sign off on it - thanks to Comey.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2007/05/15/12881/comey-silence/


In his testimony today, Comey spoke for the first time about:

— The high-speed pursuit that took place when Comey learned that Card and Gonzales were on their way to see Ashcroft at the hospital;

— The hospital meeting, in which the seriously ill Ashcroft “stunned” Comey by lifting “his head off the pillow and in very strong terms” rejecting Card and Gonzales’ effort to have him reauthorize the spying program;

— Comey’s admission that he believed he had “witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man, who did not have the powers of the attorney general because they had been transferred to me”;

— Andrew Card’s subsequent “very upset” call to Comey, in which Card claimed that he and Gonzales had visited Ashcroft “just…to wish him well”;

— The White House’s eventual agreement to suspend the warrantless spying in the face of a threat of mass resignations, including from FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General Ashcroft

[grasswire]

43. what the hell is THIS about??

"Some political observers believe that should the FBI find something incriminating against Clinton, the Democratic Party would seek out another standard-bearer such as Vice President Biden, former Vice President Al Gore or Secretary of State John Kerry. Many establishment Democrats don’t believe Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would be a viable nominee in the general election."

This is an outrageous statement. OUTRAGEOUS. Insider stupidity.