‘Will Hillary Clinton Get Prosecuted?’: Illegal E-mail Activity And FBI Investigation Loom Over Debate

One top Google search leading into the Sunday’s debates was not health care or super PAC funding, but “Will Hillary Clinton get prosecuted?” for alleged illegal activity.

Voters seemed be fixated on the question, as not only was her possible prosecution a top hit, but the third most searched term for the candidate was, “What did Hillary do that is illegal?” Sandwiched between these two queries are people wondering if Clinton can win the nomination, and the two that follow wonder where her birthplace is and whether or not she is a Democrat.

Curiosity about the probability of Hillary being prosecuted had already spiked around the Benghazi hearings and Clinton’s e-mail scandal; but it is a new revelation that has people wondering about whether or not she could appear in court. According to anonymous sources that spoke with Fox News, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into public corruption charges related to Hillary. One such source said it will focus on possibly illegal activity between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation.

“The agents are investigating the possible intersection of [Hillary’s] foundation’s donations, the dispensation of State Department contracts and whether regular processes were followed.”

Part of that probe will focus on proving whether or not Clinton illegally shared classified e-mails with parties not given clearance to see such documents. Fox says that at least two of these files were “Top Secret,” an allegation that could easily yield prosecution. Another source who spoke with the news channel said that they wanted to make sure to pull out all of the stops over fears that Hillary could face a similar sentence to ex-CIA director David Petraeus.

“The pressure on the lead agents is brutal. Think of it like a military operation, you might need tanks called in along with infantry.”

The sources willing to speak with the station about whether or not Hillary could be prosecuted also said they believed there was ample evidence that illegal activity was “significant.” One even presented the idea that Clinton had conspired to carry out such acts before becoming Secretary of State.

“It is virtually automatic when one comes on board at the State Department to be assigned an email address. It would have taken an affirmative act not to have one assigned… and it would also mean it was all planned out before [Hillary] took office. This certainly raises questions about the so-called legal advice she claimed to have received from inside the State Department that what she was doing was proper.”

Clinton has been incredulous toward the accusations. While appearing on State of the Union with Jake Tapper on CNN the afternoon before the debate, the host asked Hillary if she was worried about being prosecuted for illegal e-mail use. Her answer was stone-faced and curt.

“No.”

It remains to be seen how Clinton will face up to these new accusations. The Benghazi hearings, which detractors predicted as her downfall, ended in a GOP-controlled House committee finding no wrongdoing on Hillary’s part. Even the panel’s top Republican, Trey Gowdy, said that it the two-year process was not a prosecution as he had “reached no conclusions” prior to seeing Clinton in court, reported The Los Angeles Times.

What do you think? Will Hillary Clinton be prosecuted for illegal activity?

[Image via Alex Wong/Getty Images]