# 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:** 44
**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, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/861 "2016-11-07T22:55:18Z")
Yes, he very well could “assume everyone else would make a big deal about it”. You are on pretty safe ground there, you need not fear contradiction. But he had to inform Congress that he had nothing to inform them about, except that he might have something someday. Which was why it was so urgent the he inform them. And the urgency of telling Congress that he had nothing much to tell them outweighed the assumed consequences. OK, then, if that works for you, that works for you. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/862 "2016-11-07T23:14:36Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Looks like Kurt Eichenwald has found a 2017 hobby: [his campaign to bring down James Comey](http://www.newsweek.com/fbi-director-james-comey-unfit-public-service-517815). Well, _somebody_ needs to do it. ---
**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, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/863 "2016-11-07T23:21:44Z")
Maybe not. If HRC wins comfortably enough (defined as a complete and utter massacre) leaving him in place might make a good gesture towards Broderistic comity and collegiality. And it avoids the issues with replacing him. If she has them by the short and curlies, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/864 "2016-11-11T19:43:50Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Just wanted to repeat the point that previous Secretary of State Colin Powell has openly admitted to conducting state business over his personal AOL account. The aggregate amount of fucks Republicans have given about this remains at or near zero, for some strange reason. He was apparently intelligent enough to not receive, store, or send top secret and classified data through unsecure channels. As he was a former 4 star general, this is unsurprising to me. There is absolutely no comparison here, and in any event “other people did it too” is weak sauce. Good try, though. If it makes you feel better, if he was found to have broken the law, they can throw his ass in jail too. ---
**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 11, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/865 "2016-11-11T19:59:46Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > He was apparently intelligent enough to not receive, store, or send top secret and classified data through unsecure channels. As he was a former 4 star general, this is unsurprising to me. There is absolutely no comparison here, and in any event “other people did it too” is weak sauce. Good try, though. > > If it makes you feel better, if he was found to have broken the law, they can throw his ass in jail too. You gave no idea what he sent, because we haven’t gone through his emails. And Clinton didn’t do what you said either. She had 3 unmarked emails and a hundred that broached on sensitive topics. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/866 "2016-11-11T20:02:50Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > You gave no idea what he sent, because we haven’t gone through his emails. And Clinton didn’t do what you said either. She had 3 unmarked emails and a hundred that broached on sensitive topics. Actually, it was the 110 that were completely unmarked and a further 3 that had _portion_ markings. No markings in the header. ---
**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 11, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/867 "2016-11-11T20:04:52Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Actually, it was the 110 that were completely unmarked and a further 3 that had _portion_ markings. No markings in the header. I did know that, I was trying to make it as simple as possible. But yeah, that’s more accurate. ---
**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 11, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/868 "2016-11-11T20:12:17Z")
Are we still having this argument? For God’s sake why? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/869 "2016-11-11T20:18:29Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Are we still having this argument? For God’s sake why? Because despite endless refutations, there continues to be people who don’t want to get it. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/870 "2016-11-11T20:18:49Z")
Yeah. What’s the point of further beating a horse that’s been dead for years now that it can’t hurt Hillary Clinton politically? I predict a quick, “we’re glad this whole ugly business has been put behind us,” any day now. Ditto, Benghazi. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/871 "2016-11-11T20:23:00Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Yeah. What’s the point of further beating a horse that’s been dead for years now that it can’t hurt Hillary Clinton politically? I predict a quick, “we’re glad this whole ugly business has been put behind us,” any day now. Ditto, Benghazi. I hope this ends here. But with Trumps promise to throw hillary in jail, I am afraid that there may be much more to argue about. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/872 "2016-11-12T18:11:57Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > You gave no idea what he sent, because we haven’t gone through his emails. And Clinton didn’t do what you said either. She had 3 unmarked emails and a hundred that broached on sensitive topics. So your contention is she did not utilize unsecured computer servers to conduct official government business during her tenure as secretary of state? It begs the question did she ever use official channels? You can try to defend the indefensible, but there’s no getting around this. This was an epic blunder. There is no possible way for the TS and classified to migrate to unsecure networks. Unless someone does so on purpose. Period. The end. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/873 "2016-11-12T18:37:10Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > So your contention is she did not utilize unsecured computer servers to conduct official government business during her tenure as secretary of state? It begs the question did she ever use official channels? You can try to defend the indefensible, but there’s no getting around this. This was an epic blunder. > > There is no possible way for the TS and classified to migrate > to unsecure networks. Unless someone does so on purpose. Period. The end. Her server was used for staff communications. Classified materials were not supposed to go there. Her staff did use the govt. secured system.The problem was there were 110 \*\*UNMARKED \*\*emails that wound up on the private server. Plus a further 3 that were not marked in the header but did have portion markings. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/874 "2016-11-12T18:51:43Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Because despite endless refutations, there continues to be people who don’t want to get it. Yep, it is pretty easy. Clinton. setup her own insecure server without asking for legal or policy advice from the State department legal or IT staff, so that she would have complete control over the email servers contents in direct violation of government policy in a way that may have broken federal law. (This is all in the FBI report) Not very difficult. Note, the only speculation in the above paragraph is the reason why Clinton did what she did. But given that the whole mess started when FOIA requests did not turn up any Clinton email account on State servers and that when Clinton did turn over the emails, she did not turn over all of the emails, it is a reasonable supposition to make. But it doesn’t really matter. She lost, the Clintons power is basically gone and the likelyhood of her being in government again is zero. Slee ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/875 "2016-11-12T18:55:55Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > Yep, it is pretty easy. Clinton. setup her own insecure server without asking for legal or policy advice from the State department legal or IT staff, so that she would have complete control over the email servers contents in direct violation of government policy in a way that may have broken federal law. (This is all in the FBI report) > > Not very difficult. Note, the only speculation in the above paragraph is the reason why Clinton did what she did. But given that the whole mess started when FOIA requests did not turn up any Clinton email account on State servers and that when Clinton did turn over the emails, she did not turn over all of the emails, it is a reasonable supposition to make. > > But it doesn’t really matter. She lost, the Clintons power is basically gone and the likelyhood of her being in government again is zero. > > Slee And if Trump does not follow through on his promise to reopen the investigation into everything that Clinton has or could have done, then this may be the end of it. If The Trump admin starts going after her, then yes, we’ll be revisiting this whole thing over and over, and over again. ---
**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 12, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/876 "2016-11-12T20:12:07Z")
I don’t think he’ll go after her. What does he have to gain from it? It’s a useless distraction at this point. ---
**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 12, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/877 "2016-11-12T20:17:57Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > … > > But it doesn’t really matter. She lost, the Clintons power is basically gone and the likelyhood of her being in government again is zero. > > Slee Which was, of course, the whole point of the “investigation.” “Lock Her Up” will join the rest of Trump’s Unfulfilled Campaign Promises. Remind me again, how many have been jailed for committing her alleged “crimes”? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/878 "2016-11-12T22:26:32Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Her server was used for staff communications. Classified materials were not supposed to go there. Her staff did use the govt. secured system.The problem was there were 110 \*\*UNMARKED \*\*emails that wound up on the private server. Plus a further 3 that were not marked in the header but did have portion markings. So why aren’t they arresting the people who sent those unmarked but maybe/sorta classified emails to her? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/879 "2016-11-12T22:33:16Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > So why aren’t they arresting the people who sent those unmarked but maybe/sorta classified emails to her? I would guess because they were not Democrats running in the last election. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950/880 "2016-11-12T22:44:57Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > So why aren’t they arresting the people who sent those unmarked but maybe/sorta classified emails to her? As **iiandyiiii** has pointed out to the point he’s probably ready to reach through the monitor and throttle someone, careless handling is not criminal, the person is retrained and reprimanded and possible temporary or permanent loss/reduction of security clearance. As Comey said, criminal is deliberate releasing of materials to an unauthorized person. That’s what Petraeus did. Plus he tried to hide the materials and lied to the FBI. They still plead down to a a misdemeanor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-is-re-opening-investigation-into-clintons-email/769950.md?page=45)