# FBI is re-opening investigation into Clinton's email **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 28, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950 "2016-10-28T17:57:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 26
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/501 "2016-10-31T16:29:31Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > This breaking news is not trivial in fact it may wind up being that Obama is the one that needs a presidential pardon: [http://freebeacon.com/national-security/attorney-general-lynch-pleads-fifth-secret-iran-ransom-payments/](http://freebeacon.com/national-security/attorney-general-lynch-pleads-fifth-secret-iran-ransom-payments/) > > Congress: Attorney General > Lynch ‘Pleads Fifth’ on Secret Iran ‘Ransom’ Payments There is literally nothing in that letter that pleads the Fifth. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/502 "2016-10-31T16:32:25Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I’m not the one stretching points to play partisan defense. I’ve been very hard on Clinton over the email scandal. But that doesn’t mean I think you can just say any old thing you want about it. It’s bad enough without exaggeration. Partisan defense? I’m not a Trump supporter, and I haven’t voted for a single Republican in over a decade … but call Hillary a liar, and that makes me a partisan. LOL. She claimed that she only used one phone; the FBI found she used several, in some cases destroying the old ones with a hammer. Are we supposed to think that was some kind of innocent mistake, that aides swapped out phones without telling her, and dotty old Hillary just didn’t notice? That despite 25 years at the highest levels of government, she was still sincerely ignorant of what (c) means at the start of a paragraph? She lied, simply and obviously. Comey didn’t say it out of courtesy. The rest of us are under no such obligation. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/503 "2016-10-31T16:33:32Z")
Even if they are not classified they may still be sensitive. And she may have had these emails on her laptop while working for Clinton in the State Department\* but the fact that they are still on her laptop while in the private sector bothers me for some reason I can’t put my finger on. And now that I think about it, yeah it is related to the server issue. What sort of security does her laptop have? - I’m assuming that as an aide to Sec’y Clinton she would need similar clearance even if not a member of the state department. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/504 "2016-10-31T16:34:21Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > The _Washington Free Beacon_, huh? I was all like, dude, don’t diss it, the bacon is FREE, who cares if it’s any good? But then I read it again. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/505 "2016-10-31T16:48:51Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Partisan defense? I’m not a Trump supporter, and I haven’t voted for a single Republican in over a decade … but call Hillary a liar, and that makes me a partisan. LOL. Oh, so you’re voting for Hillary then? Because I am, but I still manage to write things that are critical of her without spouting Fox News talking points. > [@furt](#): > > She claimed that she only used one phone; the FBI found she used several, in some cases destroying the old ones with a hammer. Are we supposed to think that was some kind of innocent mistake, that aides swapped out phones without telling her, and dotty old Hillary just didn’t notice? That despite 25 years at the highest levels of government, she was still sincerely ignorant of what (c) means at the start of a paragraph? You need to get outside the conservative media bubble. She used one phone at a time, but used multiple phones over a period of years. Like most of us. She should have done a [better](https://www.wired.com/2016/09/actually-clinton-destroyed-phones-better/) job of destroying the deprecated phones, but of course that’s not what you’re criticizing her for, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/506 "2016-10-31T16:51:49Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > I’m quite happy with the appropriate explanation – the money was the accumulation of principal and interest for monies owned by Iran that were secured by the USA during the hostage crisis. Iran failed to ask for that money as part of their secret deal with Reagan, so they didn’t get it without making a court case out of it. > > Can we just stop looking for ‘crimes’ our President has committed? Can the Republicans just lay down and die? and, I suspect every administration since Reagan has been waiting for a chance to use that money that we don’t really own to grease the track of one negotiation or another with Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/507 "2016-10-31T17:00:31Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > There is literally nothing in that letter that pleads the Fifth. Your right … sorry I didn’t read the whole thing … seems she is just refusing to answer questions about the transfer of the funds and of course why it was secret. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/508 "2016-10-31T17:11:17Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Well, almost always. Statutory rape is the first exception that comes to mind. And, funnily enough - intent doesn’t matter in violating the Hatch Act. I’ve previously cited Richard Painter, a lawyer for the Bush admin and expert in lawyer-ethics, who has filed an official complaint against Comey with Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics. > **[Former Bush Ethics Lawyer Files Complaint Accusing FBI Director of Violating...](https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/former-bush-ethics-lawyer-files-complaint-accusing-fbi-director-of-violating-hatch-act/)** > > The former chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush White House (and now Hillary Clinton supporter) has filed an ethics complaint against FBI Director James Comey over the letter he sent to lawmakers on Friday. Here’s a different cite, the NYT op-ed where Painter lays out his reasoning: [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/opinion/on-clinton-emails-did-the-fbi-director-abuse-his-power.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/opinion/on-clinton-emails-did-the-fbi-director-abuse-his-power.html) > [@Richard Painter](#): > > Violations of the Hatch Act and of government ethics rules on misuse of official positions are not permissible in any circumstances, including in the case of an executive branch official acting under pressure from politically motivated members of Congress. Violations are of even greater concern when the agency is the F.B.I. > > \ > > But an official doesn’t need to have a specific intent — or desire — to influence an election to be in violation of the Hatch Act or government ethics rules. The rules are violated if it is obvious that the official’s actions could influence the election, there is no other good reason for taking those actions, and the official is acting under pressure from persons who obviously do want to influence the election. > > Absent extraordinary circumstances that might justify it, a public communication about a pending F.B.I. investigation involving a candidate that is made on the eve of an election is thus very likely to be a violation of the Hatch Act and a misuse of an official position. Serious questions also arise under lawyers’ professional conduct rules that require prosecutors to avoid excessive publicity and unnecessary statements that could cause public condemnation even of people who have been accused of a crime, not to mention people like Mrs. Clinton, who have never been charged with a crime. Of course, it is important to let the investigation of Director Comey’s alleged Hatch Act Violation play itself out, but I can’t help suspect that he’s going to have a hard time explaining why it was so crucial to announce the emails before he’d even read them. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/509 "2016-10-31T17:12:40Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > Your right … sorry I didn’t read the whole thing … seems she is just refusing to answer questions about the transfer of the funds and of course why it was secret. It was secret? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/510 "2016-10-31T17:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > …seems she is just refusing to answer questions about the transfer of the funds and of course why it was secret. You may correct if wrong but you will have to use authority a bit better than what you have offered so far, but… The Attorney General is not the SecState, international diplomacy is not her bailiwick. I don’t think she is responsible for matters of international law, her plate is quite full enough with just the USA. Secondly, IIRC, the transfer was secret because the Iranians wanted it that way. Simply because something is secret does not necessarily mean it is nefarious. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/511 "2016-10-31T17:22:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You may correct if wrong but you will have to use authority a bit better than what you have offered so far, but… > > The Attorney General is not the SecState, international diplomacy is not her bailiwick. I don’t think she is responsible for matters of international law, her plate is quite full enough with just the USA. > > Secondly, IIRC, the transfer was secret because the Iranians wanted it that way. Simply because something is secret does not necessarily mean it is nefarious. Bite your tongue sir! You are attacking someone else’s religion! ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/512 "2016-10-31T17:25:03Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > And, funnily enough - intent doesn’t matter in violating the Hatch Act. You know that Clinton also broke a law that doesn’t require intent as well, right? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/513 "2016-10-31T17:31:23Z")
As much as I admire pithy and concise arguments, that won’t do. At least add in some cowbell. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/514 "2016-10-31T17:32:10Z")
I don’t get the calls for Obama to pardon Mrs. Clinton. She hasn’t been even charged with a crime as yet. I"ve already voted for her, but if, down the road, she ends up being charged with and convicted of … something, I won’t object to that. There are mechanisms in place to deal with such thing. It’s certainly not enough to justify a Trump Presidency. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/515 "2016-10-31T17:37:43Z")
Joe Walsh, Karl Rove, and Alberto Gonzales are scolding Comey. Its out there, you can find it, I can’t link it because I feel dirty already just _reading_ it… Barkeep! Tequila and bongwater! Make it a double. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/516 "2016-10-31T17:37:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Comey’s judgment is sufficiently in question that it’s not unreasonable IMHO to have it looked at by the Office of Special Counsel WRT the Hatch Act, and he should also be required (IMHO) to issue a much more specific clarifying statement to put to rest some of the really absurd spin that the Republicans are putting on it. The public is entitled to a fair and impartial presentation of the facts, not Trump’s typically delusional version of them. The silence from Comey as Trump spins this into one whopper of a lie after another is extraordinary. Comey hasn’t even read the emails yet – he just got a warrant for them. How is he supposed to comment on something which he hasn’t even read? Look do I think Comey’s motives are pure and altruistic? No, but he’s in a tight position. Democrats were singing his praises about his fairness and objectivity over the summer but now he’s a partisan hack. We wouldn’t be talking about this if Clinton had used better judgment in setting up her server and had Abedin used better judgment in her choice of men. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/517 "2016-10-31T17:39:03Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > As much as I admire pithy and concise arguments, that won’t do. At least add in some cowbell. It’s a straight reading of the law, don’t know what sort of cowbell you need. As I quoted earlier from Comey’s testimony : > [@](#): > > There is a statute that was passed in 1917 that on its face makes it a crime, a felony for someone to engage in gross negligence. So that would appear to say, well, maybe in that circumstance you don’t need to prove they knew they were doing something that was unlawful, maybe it’s enough to prove that they were just really, really careless beyond a reasonable doubt. Then he goes to say the Justice department clearly never felt comfortable enforcing that part of the act and it would be inappropriate to start now. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/518 "2016-10-31T17:39:10Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You know that Clinton also broke a law that doesn’t require intent as well, right? No, I don’t. I know that Comey, in declining to recommend criminal charges, specifically mentioned that Clinton had not done anything that meets the necessary intent portion of that law. [http://www.politico.com/blogs/james-comey-testimony/2016/07/james-comey-clinton-criminal-intent-225235](http://www.politico.com/blogs/james-comey-testimony/2016/07/james-comey-clinton-criminal-intent-225235) > [@Director Comey](#): > > “I don’t want to comment on people’s public statements,” Comey said in response to a question from Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.). > > “We did not find evidence sufficient to establish that she knew she was sending classified information beyond a reasonable doubt to meet the intent standard,” Comey explained. > > \ > > Clinton should have known better than to send classified information, Comey affirmed, adding, “I think she was extremely careless. I think she was negligent. That I could establish. What we can’t establish is that she acted with the necessary criminal intent.” ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/519 "2016-10-31T17:43:27Z")
Answered above. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/520 "2016-10-31T17:47:04Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Joe Walsh, Karl Rove, and Alberto Gonzales are scolding Comey. Its out there, you can find it, I can’t link it because I feel dirty already just _reading_ it… > > Barkeep! Tequila and bongwater! Make it a double. I’ll have what he’s having - **Joe Walsh** ’s tweet: > Look, I think Comey should have said prosecute her back in July. But what he just did 11 days b4 the election is wrong & unfair to Hillary. **Bill Hemmer** tweet - > MORE: @KarlRove says FBI Director James Comey was “wrong in July and was wrong on Friday.” **Rebecca Shabad** tweeted: > George W. Bush’s AG Alberto Gonzales on @CNN right now: “I really worry that [Comey] has made an error in judgment.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950.md?page=27)