Hillary: Not Guilty But Hardly Innocent

Anyone paying attention understood the FBI probe of Hillary Clinton was going nowhere the second former president Bill Clinton waltzed on a plane for a secret meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  Seven days later, the FBI gave the former Secretary of State a get-out-of-jail card.

Coincidence?  That's what Democrats and the news media would like for you to believe.  But it requires a suspension of reality to conclude the "chance" meeting had nothing to do with the swift resolution of an FBI investigation that had been plodding along since at least August of last year.

Consider the breathtaking speed of events that unfolded after Ms. Lynch welcomed Mr. Clinton onto her government jet in Phoenix.  Within short order, the long-awaited FBI interview with Mrs. Clinton was held in New York.  After a three-and-one-half hour grilling, she sauntered to a Broadway show.

In the meantime, an embarrassed Ms. Lynch conducted a damage-control tour.  She appeared on television to assure Americans she was taking a hands off approach to the email inquiry.  Ms. Lynch is FBI director James Comey's boss.  Yet she intimated she was out of the loop.

Ms. Lynch's subordinate was handling a high-profile case, involving the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.  Are Americans supposed to believe she never bothered to ask about the FBI's progress?  There is no question Ms. Lynch was thoroughly briefed on the inquest.

Days after Ms. Lynch's 20-to-30 minute private chat with the former president, the FBI put a neat ribbon on its investigation, concluding that "no charges are appropriate in this case."  A Clinton campaign spokesman immediately crowed "this matter is now resolved."

Is there any doubt Bill Clinton lobbied Ms. Lynch for a speedy resolution of the probe? Did he also dangle a promise Ms. Lynch would remain AG if his wife is elected? These questions may sound like little more than conspiracy theory to some, but the meeting altered the trajectory of the FBI probe.

Even if the meeting had not happened, there never was going to be an indictment of Mrs. Clinton. That was obvious after Mr. Obama's endorsement of his former Secretary of State and his expression of confidence that she would be exonerated by the FBI.

As far back as April, Mr. Obama sent public signals to Comey about what the president expected.  In an interview, the president called her use of a private server "carelessness" and added Mrs. Clinton "would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy."  Comey obviously paid attention.

Not coincidentally, the six-foot-eight inch FBI director almost used Mr. Obama's exact words and same logic in declining to recommend prosecution.  

In his media briefing, Comey tried his best to appear transparent in presenting the FBI finding. However, he relied on a legal definition of the former secretary's "intent," even as he acknowledged that Mrs. Clinton was "extremely careless" in the handling of classified information.

"Although there is evidence of potential violations of statues regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case," Comey said. His conclusion was that Mrs. Clinton did not "willfully mishandle classified information."

Clearly, Comey's decision hinged on his belief Mrs. Clinton was not guilty of intentionally mistreating classified documents.  That is a curious finding in light of her intentional deployment of a non-secure private server to handle her email, instead of using the State Department's secure system.

Even Comey tried to tap dance around the obvious contradiction.

"To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences," he told reporters.  "To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions.  But that is not what we are deciding now."

His explanation was an obvious attempt to head-off his critics, who contend he applied a different standard to Mrs. Clinton. By raising the specter of serious repercussions, he hoped people would infer the director could have nailed her except for the legal interpretation he was compelled to follow.

Under questioning by Congress, Comey was forced to admit that Mrs. Clinton's version of her handling of emails did not square with his agency's findings. The FBI found she sent and received classified documents, she used more than one device and her server was likely compromised.

On numerous occasions, Mrs. Clinton had unequivocally denied every one of those offenses. Curiously, the FBI did not require the former secretary to testify under oath, sparing her a future prosecution on perjury charges. This wasn't the only unusual accommodation that Comey made.

Days after Comey's briefing, it was learned that FBI agents who worked the investigation of Mrs. Clinton were required to sign an unorthodox non-disclosure agreement banning them from talking about the case. Obviously, Comey wanted to prevent leaks that might embarrass the secretary.

An ABC/Washington Post poll delivered a stunning rebuke of both Clinton and the FBI.  A majority (56%) of those surveyed disapproved of the federal agency's decision not to charge Mrs. Clinton with a crime. Only 35 percent approved of the FBI verdict.

Americans know a fix when they see one. The FBI and Justice Department colluded to make the email scandal disappear before the Democratic Convention.  The probe's ending has left Americans shaking their heads in disbelief as once again the Clintons escape legal prosecution.