Why Comey Blinked


comey-fbi-presser

Written by Karin McQuillan

It is galling the day after July 4th to be greeted by yet one more official at the highest level of government, who has declined to respect the rule of law in favor of giving a free pass to the Obama Administration.

FBI Director James Comey indicted Hillary Clinton in the court of public opinion by laying out before the TV cameras, step by step, her gross negligence in handling classified material, including Top Secret information that would compromise our national security if made accessible to our enemies.  He told us Clinton sent classified information over servers not as safe as a simple gmail account.  He told us it is impossible for the FBI to ascertain what foreign hostile actors may have accessed her account, but there is good evidence to believe that the information was hacked.

We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account. We also assess that Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent. She also used her personal e-mail extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related e-mails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail account.

He told us that it is a federal felony “to mishandle classified information …in a grossly negligent way.”

He told us a second statute makes “it a misdemeanor to knowingly remove classified information from appropriate systems or storage facilities.”

He then described in clear, specific detail how Sect. of State Clinton knowingly removed classified information from appropriate systems and storage facilities.  He concluded “there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”

According to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the legal definition of gross negligence is to be extremely careless.

The definition of gross negligence under the law is extreme carelessness…the FBI clearly found a direct violation of 18 United States code section 793 which does not require intent — it requires only gross negligence in the handling of anything relating to the national defense.  …It’s the first definition that comes up in the law dictionary…It’s the definition the judges give to juries when they charge injuries on gross negligence. Negligence equals carelessness. Gross negligence equals extreme carelessness. So that is a clear absolutely unassailable violation of 18 United States Code, section 793, which is not a minor statute, it carries ten years in prison.

And then, in an act of great cynicism, FBI Director Comey looked the American people directly in the eye and told us that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against Hillary Clinton.

His build up as to why the FBI decided to recommend no criminal charges:

In our system, the prosecutors make the decisions about whether charges are appropriate based on evidence the FBI has helped collect. … we frequently … engage in productive conversations with prosecutors about what resolution may be appropriate, given the evidence.

This is the tell:  “We …engage in productive conversations with prosecutors about what resolution may be appropriate.”

Comey is telling us he spoke to the Obama DOJ about “what resolution may be appropriate.”  It is obvious he was told that no criminal charges would be brought against Hillary Clinton.  DOJ refused to even charge her on the misdemeanor level that she did “knowingly remove classified information from appropriate systems or storage facilities.”

Unlike the men we honored the day before, on July 4th, who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to defend liberty and the rule of law, FBI Director Comey was not willing to put anything on the line.  He wanted us to know Hillary was guilty as hell.  But he was not willing to pit the FBI against Obama’s DOJ, so he let the guilty walk free without even at attempt at insisting she be charged.

Everyone has known from the start Obama would never prosecute Hillary.  So Comey looked us in the eye and told us no reasonable prosecutor would take action on the gross negligence and betrayal of our national security that Hillary Clinton ordered as Secretary at State.

It depends on the meaning of reasonable.

See also: Comey’s Game


This article was originally posted at AmericanThinker.com