# 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:** 41
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/801 "2016-11-07T03:54:51Z")
Say, is this a scandal yet? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/802 "2016-11-07T04:32:56Z")
[Edward Snowden responds to the new Trump camp conspiracy theory.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/edward-snowden-hillary-clinton-emails_us_581fe27de4b0aac62485334d?section=politics) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/803 "2016-11-07T04:33:15Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Right, these people are very stupid. This was Anthony Weiner’s computer, the presumption any rational person would have is that the vast majority of the emails on his computer were, well, his emails. “Huma’s emails” that were on his computer, I suspect, were emails Huma got and forwarded to her husband. I bet some were originally from Hillary’s private email account she used as Secretary of State, probably during the time she was Secretary of State. Without knowing more, some people in the FBI were like “oh hey, these could be more of the emails covering our investigation window.” > > The rational thing to do would have been to filter out all of the emails that contain no addresses from the domain of Hillary’s private server. I bet that is probably like 99% of his emails. Then the small number left you just have someone sift through. Probably most are just from Huma to Weiner (Huma had her own email account on Hillary’s private email server), many probably of a personal nature. A few may have been political. If you actually found classified emails heretofore not found, that had been transmitted from Huma to Weiner, that’s a big deal. But if not, then there’s really nothing here–especially if the small number of Hillary domain emails are just duplicates of ones already reviewed. > > All of this could’ve been done before Comey ever sent his first letter to Congress, and if it found nothing then there’s no reason for Comey to even update Congress. In fact–under the rules of the DoJ Comey never should’ve been unilaterally communicating to Congress details about an ongoing investigation, period. FBI’s roles is investigatory, and when their investigation is concluded their role is to pass the information to DoJ lawyers who determine what to do with it. In some high profile cases, it is the practice to give some base level of details to the public, but Comey has been well beyond that standard for a long time now. Emphasis added. It would be foolish to assume that one could accurately guess how many e-mails were related to HRC and how many were not. One might guess, but a guess isn’t worth shit. It’s easy to Monday Morning quarterback Comey, but he had no way of knowing what he was dealing with-- whether it would be explosive new info or just more of the same. Perhaps if HRC hadn’t deleted tens of thousands of e-mails before the FBI had a chance to investigate, there would have been less concern about these particular emails. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/804 "2016-11-07T04:52:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > … It’s easy to Monday Morning quarterback Comey, but he had no way of knowing what he was dealing with-- whether it would be explosive new info or just more of the same. Perhaps if HRC hadn’t deleted tens of thousands of e-mails before the FBI had a chance to investigate, there would have been less concern about these particular emails. I disagree on both claims. If the FBI didn’t know anything, then the appropriate course of action is not to say anything. And if the circumstances were judged so hypersensitive due to the pending election, then Comey should bloody well have been much, much more careful to provide absolutely neutral wording. The clear implication that was read into his ill-advised letter by virtually every Republican is “we’ve discovered a major treasure trove of Hillary emails!!! Like, major, man! Haven’t really started going though them yet, so nothing specific to report, but boy, you’d better stay tuned!!!” To write a letter that is subject to such an interpretation demonstrates, at best, appalling bad judgment and, at worst, a conspiracy within the FBI in which he is either a participant or a victim, perhaps a manager not in control of his subordinates and unaware of their activities. Your last statement is just innuendo – guilt by association. It’s been established that Hillary was guilty of bad judgment regarding the private email server and probably the email deletions. That doesn’t automatically make her guilty of other accusations, nor forfeit her right to be treated fairly and in accordance with facts. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/805 "2016-11-07T05:22:18Z")
Geraldo Rivera in Al Capone’s vault… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/806 "2016-11-07T05:47:38Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > …t would be foolish to assume that one could accurately guess how many e-mails were related to HRC and how many were not… Not a question of e-mails related to HRC, anyone is free to express an opinion about HRC, or discuss her whereabouts, movement, and schedule. The only relevant question is which e-mails are addressed to her or which e-mails are from her and passed by way of her criminal server. > [@](#): > > …Perhaps if HRC hadn’t deleted tens of thousands of e-mails before the FBI had a chance to investigate, there would have been less concern about these particular emails… Or perhaps if the Republicans hadn’t gone off howling like bloodhounds after Bigfoot. Just sayin’, is all. Because, after all, here we are. Or better, maybe…here we _aren’t_. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/807 "2016-11-07T08:46:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > there would have been less concern about these particular emails. Looking on from afar, it seems to me there are plastic widgets in China less manufactured than the “concern” about Clintons emails. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/808 "2016-11-07T09:46:36Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Looking on from afar, it seems to me there are plastic widgets in China less manufactured than the “concern” about Clintons emails. You’re exactly right. The Republicans are masters of manufactured concern (it’s more commonly referred to as “manufactured outrage”). And when I say that they’re masters, I don’t mean that they’re particularly good at it, just that they do it often, and loudly. It’s completely transparent and obvious to objective observers. Arguing with them about such things is basically a rhetorical exercise in finding holes in their carefully constructed sophistry. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/809 "2016-11-07T09:55:44Z")
Everything is manufactured when it comes to Democratic politicians(at least until there’s an actual indictment), and everything is a legit scandal when it’s a Republican politician. We know the drill. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/810 "2016-11-07T09:58:14Z")
Speaking of people out to get the Clintons, Janet Reno died this morning. CNN’s front page, no link yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/811 "2016-11-07T10:35:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Everything is manufactured when it comes to Democratic politicians(at least until there’s an actual indictment), and everything is a legit scandal when it’s a Republican politician. We know the drill. That’s utter nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/812 "2016-11-07T10:46:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Speaking of people out to get the Clintons, Janet Reno died this morning. CNN’s front page, no link yet. Wow. Assuming death is as “lights out” as I think it is, it’s sad she’ll never find out who won this thing. But, she got to see the Cubs win the World Series. So there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/813 "2016-11-07T11:03:38Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Everything is manufactured when it comes to Democratic politicians(at least until there’s an actual indictment), and everything is a legit scandal when it’s a Republican politician. We know the drill. ISTR ages ago you listing off all the “scandals” that were going to bring Obama down - Benghazi, the IRS scandal, the AP scandal, and various others I’ve forgotten. And - oh look - eight Benghazi investigations produced no evidence of wrongdoing, the report into the IRS investigation was released quietly over a holiday weekend to hide the fact that they found nothing to do with Obama, the AP scandal (which you insisted was going to turn the media against Obama) evaporated into nothingness, and 30 years of investigating Clinton has yet to turn up anything actionable. Let’s face it: assertions that “Everything is manufactured when it comes to Democratic politicians(at least until there’s an actual indictment), and everything is a legit scandal when it’s a Republican politician” _are backed by substantial experience._ ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/814 "2016-11-07T11:14:42Z")
Has Trump been indicted? then all allegations against him are bullshit and manufactured, going by the Clinton standard. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/815 "2016-11-07T11:29:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Has Trump been indicted? then all allegations against him are bullshit and manufactured, going by the Clinton standard. Have there been a long list of allegations against Trump that have been thoroughly investigated by official bodies and found to be baseless? No? Then your ridiculous attempt at equivalence fails. All the outstanding cases against Trump are civil ones, but he has indeed lost or settled hundreds of them. There’s no arguing that he and his father discriminated against black tenants, nor that he deliberately and aggressively campaigned to get the Central Park 5 jailed (and still insists they were guilty despite DNA evidence exonerating them), nor that he continues to fail to pay his creditors and often bullies them mercilessly with threats of legal action. And of course the investigations into Trump University are still in progress (first court date November 28) and the investigation into Trump Foundation is only at the beginning (I note there is now also some pressure in Florida to separately investigate Pam Bondi over the Trump donation and her decision to drop Florida’s fraud investigation). And of course all the assault allegations are also at the early stages, although Trump openly claiming that he sexually assaulted women (true or not) doesn’t really help his case. So let’s be fair here. Let’s let Trump be as thoroughly investigated as Clinton has been, or even as Obama has been. If he comes up clean, I’ll admit I was wrong. But I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/816 "2016-11-07T11:49:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Have there been a long list of allegations against Trump that have been thoroughly investigated by official bodies and found to be baseless? No? Then your ridiculous attempt at equivalence fails. That is a wild mischaracterization of Clinton’s record. > [@](#): > > All the outstanding cases against Trump are civil ones, but he has indeed lost or settled hundreds of them. Bill settled the Paula Jones case. You’re also leaving out the Inspector General’s report on her email practices, which noted that they were not approved and would not have been approved had she bothered to get permission. Or Comey’s report that she was extremely careless with classified information. That’s a pretty far cry from “baseless”. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/817 "2016-11-07T12:00:14Z")
There has been more coverage of the phony email scandal than all other issues combined during this campaign. Personally, I think Trump’s history of paying off a settlement for refusing to rent to blacks was more important. As was his staff clearing out all the black employees from the casino whenever he popped in for a visit. Or making sure that the hottest waitress served him at his restaurants. Or his cavalier attitude with respect to use of nuclear weapons. Not one person was harmed by Hillary’s use of a private server. Yet like Pavlov’s dogs, Republicans snarl and drool whenever “Hillary” and “email” are used in the same sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/818 "2016-11-07T12:07:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That is a wild mischaracterization of Clinton’s record. Not really. I’m not saying she’s remotely pristine politically, but she’s not the corrupt monster she’s portrayed as, and given the amount of digging that has gone into her past and present there’s very, very little to go on that doesn’t also apply in spades to pretty much every other politician in Washington. Comparatively, we’ve barely scratched the surface of Trump’s actions. > [@](#): > > Bill settled the Paula Jones case. And this has what to do with Hillary? Further desperate attempt at false equivalence noted. > [@](#): > > You’re also leaving out the Inspector General’s report on her email practices, which noted that they were not approved and would not have been approved had she bothered to get permission. Or Comey’s report that she was extremely careless with classified information. > > That’s a pretty far cry from “baseless”. Not very far at all, when you look at the facts of the matter. Clinton’s practices were in line with what previous SoS’s had done and in many respects were more rigorous in terms of security. I’m not arguing that she should have done it - she shouldn’t have - but like Benghazi this is another example of the right involved in hysterical handwringing over things that occurred to a much greater - and much worse - degree under the previous administration with nary a peep from them. If Clinton is the benchmark for bad behavior then Congress ought to be dragging Powell, Cheney and Rove in for questioning too. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/819 "2016-11-07T12:22:34Z")
Interesting. I describe the phenomena and we immediately get to see it in the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/820 "2016-11-07T12:38:20Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Interesting. I describe the phenomena and we immediately get to see it in the wild. It’s a conditioned reflex. Sort of like Pavlov’s dogs salivating on command. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950.md?page=40) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950.md?page=42)