# Ryan and the congressional Republicans to investigate the FBI. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 6, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229 "2016-07-06T16:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/81 "2016-07-07T23:10:12Z")
How do they remotely hope to prove perjury? Clinton testified she didn’t knowingly send classified materials. Comey explained today that the obscure © classified marking was probably unfamiliar to Clinton. That’s more than enough to indicate Clinton testified truthfully. She didn’t know those were classified documents. Perjury requires a deliberate lie doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/82 "2016-07-07T23:13:41Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > No, he’s Hillary/Obama’s lapdog, or he would have recommended an indictment! They got to him, probably by threatening his family, or offering him a cushy job in the Clinton Global Initiative. He’s a RINO! Gee willikers, that MUST be it! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/83 "2016-07-07T23:58:49Z")
Oh, its all there, the presumption, the assumption, then the headlong leap into speculation. A Republican syllogism. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/84 "2016-07-08T00:07:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How do they remotely hope to prove perjury? Clinton testified she didn’t knowingly send classified materials. > > Comey explained today that the obscure (c) classified marking was probably unfamiliar to Clinton. That’s more than enough to indicate Clinton testified truthfully. She didn’t know those were classified documents. > > Perjury requires a deliberate lie doesn’t it? You’d think they’d learned from trying to pin perjury on Bill in the grand impeachment. But no. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/85 "2016-07-08T00:59:37Z")
Be funny if they got their wish and somehow hounded Hillary out of the race. So, then, the Dems shrug and nominate Joe Biden. Lizzy Warren. Shit, way Trump is going, they could run Jane Fonda and win. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/86 "2016-07-08T01:04:42Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > …they could run Jane Fonda and win. And she comes with a baked-in nickname! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/87 "2016-07-08T14:33:43Z")
I am against anything that delays, impedes or otherwise threatens the existence of S3 of Grace and Frankie. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/88 "2016-07-08T15:00:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How do they remotely hope to prove perjury? Clinton testified she didn’t knowingly send classified materials. > > Comey explained today that the obscure (c) classified marking was probably unfamiliar to Clinton. That’s more than enough to indicate Clinton testified truthfully. She didn’t know those were classified documents. > > Perjury requires a deliberate lie doesn’t it? What kind of system uses obscure markings and doesn’t make sure their highest level people know what they mean? Seriously… does somebody in the field know? ---
**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:** [July 8, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/89 "2016-07-08T15:29:47Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > What kind of system uses obscure markings and doesn’t make sure their highest level people know what they mean? > > Seriously… does somebody in the field know? To quote **Evil Economist** from [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=19462858&postcount=253): > [@Evil Economist](#): > > I’m not an expert, but I watched the portion of the hearing where this was discussed: apparently the symbol “(C)” marks confidential information. Apparently, if any information is marked (C), it has to be indicated so in the header (e.g., the subject line of the email). In the cases here, the (C) symbol wasn’t put in the header, and only appeared in the body of the email, where it could be overlooked. That apparently happened 3 times. Also - no connection to Clinton or the State Department but I work a lot with the execs in my organization and it’s surprising how clueless they can sometimes be with regard to things they consider “admin”. (Not that my particular folks are clueless about security markings - ours are much more overt - but there’s a lot of basic stuff they don’t consider because they have “people to deal with that for them”. ) ---
**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:** [July 8, 2016, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/90 "2016-07-08T15:41:43Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > What kind of system uses obscure markings and doesn’t make sure their highest level people know what they mean? > > Seriously… does somebody in the field know? Not so much obscure but easily lost in a block of text. As I understand it, you can have a long email of normal stuff except for one paragraph that is preceded by (ts) to indicate that paragraph is classified Top Secret. However, “Top Secret” is supposed to be in the header/subject line in the email. Without the header warning, the small indicator could be missed if the reader is tired or doing a quick skim. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/91 "2016-07-08T16:56:15Z")
I’m curious – at this point, how do you even claim that you’re not using the power of Congress for a partisan political witch hunt? it almost seems as though this would run afoul of some regulations about using government resources to harm the candidate of another party. I think a Congressional investigation into this Congressional investigation is in order. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/92 "2016-07-08T17:13:32Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Not so much obscure but easily lost in a block of text. > As I understand it, you can have a long email of normal stuff except for one paragraph that is preceded by (ts) to indicate that paragraph is classified Top Secret. However, “Top Secret” is supposed to be in the header/subject line in the email. > Without the header warning, the small indicator could be missed if the reader is tired or doing a quick skim. There is a Mexican expression that goes “A la mejor chimolera se le va un chile entero”. ‘A whole chili can be missed be the best chili pickers’. And in this case the chili plant was often picked with little light. I think perspective was also something the FBI took into account. What was found was very little in comparison to many more messages that were properly taken care of. Also considered was how the classified threads found were not as important as assumed and that there is some controversy about how secret the remaining ones were, and that the attachments were not resent in the back and forth. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/93 "2016-07-08T17:17:42Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > “…I was merely reckless, stupid and full of hubris. Not a criminal! Vote Hillary!” “reckless, stupid and full of hubris”= Pretty much describes Trump. Hilary begged for a secure Blackberry from the NSA but was refused. Both her GOP predecessors did the same thing with their emails. Her main congressional accuser has been caught doing the same thing. So, Hubris I’ll grant, but _not_ reckless or stupid. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/94 "2016-07-08T17:19:21Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The GOP should put Issa in charge. I want to hear what was in those classified e-mails. Then they’ll have to shoot you.😛 ---
**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:** [July 8, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/95 "2016-07-08T17:29:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “reckless, stupid and full of hubris”= Pretty much describes Trump. > > Hilary begged for a secure Blackberry from the NSA but was refused. > > Both her GOP predecessors did the same thing with their emails. Her main congressional accuser has been caught doing the same thing. > > So, Hubris I’ll grant, but _not_ reckless or stupid. Her predecessors didn’t do the same thing but I’m tired of fighting that bullshit. The context of the post you quoted was whether Clinton would get good talking points out of the Comey hearing/questioning. Did you pick any good ones out? “Extremely careless”, “should have known better”, “quite unsophisticated” is what I remember from his “defense” of Clinton. Maybe I missed the zinger that Mrs Clinton would like to append to “Well, as Director Comey told Congress…”? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/96 "2016-07-08T17:35:45Z")
“…he couldn’t prove that she was guilty of a crime”. That’ll do. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/97 "2016-07-08T17:38:57Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “…he couldn’t prove that she was guilty of a crime”. That’ll do. Not exactly a “Hope and Change” slogan but I guess beggars can’t be choosers. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/98 "2016-07-08T17:40:22Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Her predecessors didn’t do the same thing but I’m tired of fighting that bullshit. > > The context of the post you quoted was whether Clinton would get good talking points out of the Comey hearing/questioning. Did you pick any good ones out? “Extremely careless”, “should have known better”, “quite unsophisticated” is what I remember from his “defense” of Clinton. Maybe I missed the zinger that Mrs Clinton would like to append to “Well, as Director Comey told Congress…”? Well, there are many good talking points indeed; in general, like in this artcle, one can conclude that the Republicans could had concentrated on enumerating the mistatements made by Clinton, but Republicans could not stop scoring many own goals. > **[What The Republican Assault On James Comey Reveals About Today’s GOP](https://www.nationalmemo.com/what-the-republican-assault-on-james-comey-reveals-about-todays-gop)** > > The confrontation between FBI director James Comey and his would-be tormentors on the House Government Oversight Committee revealed something far more fundamental about politics in America today than the reasons why Hillary Clinton will not be... > [@](#): > > The Republicans could have invited Comey up to Capitol Hill to enumerate the problems his investigators found in Clinton’s email system. They could have asked him to explain why he described her handling of classified and sensitive information as “extremely careless.” They could have displayed those findings in a way that emphasized the distrust too many Americans feel toward her. > > But that kind of hearing would have required them to accept Comey’s decision, as Chaffetz had previously said they would. Instead, they denounced his decision, hinted that he had participated in a corrupt process, and attacked the integrity of the FBI director and his agency. They set up a debate that they could not win, since he knew the facts and they clearly did not. > > Indeed the hearing may well prove beneficial to Clinton overall, with revelations of basic facts that tend to bolster her exoneration and soften Comey’s verbal indictment of her. > > The committee Democrats, led by the sharp and indefatigable Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), made the most of the opportunity afforded them by the Republican leadership. Meanwhile the Republican members, throwing up baseless theories that Comey easily shot down, repeatedly violated the most basic rule of competent trial attorneys: Never ask a question if you don’t already know the answer. Their reward was to listen haplessly as Comey, whom they had antagonized from the beginning, delivered answers that made them look foolish. > > **Was Clinton’s email system penetrated by “Guccifer”, the Romanian hacker who had boasted of purloining her messages, asked one of them expectantly, reiterating a staple of right-wing conspiracy-minded websites? “He admitted that was a lie,” replied the FBI chief. “Well…it’s good to know that,” said his inquisitor, lamely.** > > **The Republican questions pandered heavily to their most paranoid constituents, who believe that “the Clintons” have repeatedly escaped punishment for a variety of mostly imaginary offenses. Having suggested that Comey colluded in that pattern, by allowing Hillary to escape prosecution for conduct that led to convictions in earlier cases, they forced him to prove those charges false. And with the assistance of committee Democrats, who became his de facto allies, he did.** > > **Comey demonstrated exactly how the offenses committed by retired General David Petraeus, who had disclosed reams of highly classified information to his mistress (and biographer), differed from Clinton’s accidental disclosure of a few innocuous documents that probably shouldn’t have been classified at all. Indeed, he retreated from his criticism of Clinton, to a degree, when he conceded under Democratic questioning that out of tens of thousands of documents, only three were arguably “classified” when they crossed her email account — and that those three were incorrectly marked. Based on the inconspicuous and incorrect markings, the FBI director could scarcely defend the notion that she should have known those pages were classified.** ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/99 "2016-07-08T18:17:31Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Not exactly a “Hope and Change” slogan but I guess beggars can’t be choosers. On that, I defer to your experience and expertise. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229/100 "2016-07-08T21:12:44Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > … > [What The Republican Assault On James Comey Reveals About Today’s GOP - National Memo](http://www.nationalmemo.com/what-the-republican-assault-on-james-comey-reveals-about-todays-gop/) > > > [@](#): > > > > … Indeed, he retreated from his criticism of Clinton, to a degree, when he conceded under Democratic questioning that out of tens of thousands of documents, only three were arguably “classified” when they crossed her email account — and that those three were incorrectly marked. Based on the inconspicuous and incorrect markings, the FBI director could scarcely defend the notion that she should have known those pages were classified. But will that stop them from continuing to claim that she lied? Of course not. What care they for facts?!? (Great National Memo piece–thanks.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-and-the-congressional-republicans-to-investigate-the-fbi/759229.md?page=6)