Despite the fact that FBI Director Comey has cleared Hillary Clinton in his latest message to Congress, the impact of his reckless decision only 11 days ago to insert himself and the FBI into the 2016 election process has been extremely serious. According to the Associated Press , even though Director Comey’s fishing expedition in Anthony Weiner’s laptop apparently produced nothing at all incriminating against Hillary Clinton, the insinuations of his first message to Congress could have long lasting consequences, even if Clinton wins.
“This is huge.” @BrookeBCNN on new Comey letter just now https://t.co/HiHpCO4GFm
— Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) November 6, 2016
Criticism of Comey’s of Initial Decision
As reported by Sinclair Broadcast Group , the initial decision by the FBI director to re-examine a laptop owned by Anthony Weiner under the vague suggestion that there might – possibly – be something in it related to the Hillary Clinton email “scandal” received harsh criticism in the media and from Democratic politicians . They were particularly critical of the director’s decision to carry out the process so publicly only days before the resolution of the 2016 election.
In addition to criticism from the Hillary Clinton campaign itself, a surprising number of Republican politicians also attacked Comey’ decision, suggesting that it might represent a violation of the Hatch Act of 1939, forbidding government officials from interfering with the outcome of an election in the United States.
Director Comey Clears Clinton Too Late
As it now stands, early voting surveys and the most recent polls suggest that Hillary Clinton will likely still win the presidency on November 8. But by waiting until only two days before the resolution of the 2016 election to issue his latest statement on the matter, Comey has insured that the impact of Hillary Clinton’s victory will be lessened.
https://twitter.com/aseitzwald/status/795360861942493184
At this juncture, it may be that FBI Director Comey now feels he has safely washed his hands of the entire affair. But this kind of interference in the electoral process by a federal official should itself be a prosecutable offense. Unfortunately, under the provisions of the Hatch Act, James Comey can at most face dismissal and a $1,000 fine.
Effect of the Comey Insinuations
For months, it’s been fairly obvious that many Republicans wanted to find a way to ensure that Donald Trump did not win the presidency, since Trump in no way represented what they thought a conservative Republican should be. For one thing, he’s opposed to free trade. At the same time, they wanted to ensure that they retained control of the House of Representatives and – if possible – the Senate.
And now comey has made one thing clear…again: HRC committed no crime with email. Period. https://t.co/CozodgaB8C
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) November 6, 2016
By what can hardly be a coincidence, the FBI director’s release of his highly ambiguous letter to Republican leaders in Congress on the Friday before last seems to have accomplished at least some of the above goals. Donald Trump came up sufficiently in the polls following this manufactured scandal that a Hillary Clinton landslide win putting Democrats in control of the House of Representatives has become unlikely.
There is still a chance that Democrats might just barely take back the Senate, but even this has been called into question by what looks like an admittedly clever maneuver on the part of the FBI and Republicans in the U. S. Congress. As Julius Caesar put it while crossing the Rubicon, the die is cast. At the same time, it still looks like Trump himself will lose.
https://twitter.com/DebraMessing/status/795378764624576513
So even if FBI Director James Comey clears Clinton now, the ship has metaphorically sailed. In all likelihood, Comey and the Republicans in Congress that he contacted – as well as Donald Trump – knew perfectly well that the Anthony Weiner laptop gambit was nothing more than a red herring. But they also knew that releasing it when they did would guarantee that its impact on the 2016 election could not be entirely reversed before Election Day.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
