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FBI Tag

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 06, 2016 20 Comments
You might want to have a looped soundtrack of fingernails on a blackboard cued up . . . Because you could be clamoring for something relatively soothing like that after listening to Hillary's attempt at stand-up comedy. With All Due Respect opened today's show with a clip of Hillary trying to use humor to attack Donald Trump, as she stood in front of one his shuttered Atlantic City casinos. But the humor fell so flat, and was delivered in such a grating tone, that WADR put its own seal of . . . disapproval on the performance by following each "joke" with a classic "wha wha" or other sarcastic sound. Co-host John Heilemann delivered the  coup de grâce, acerbically saying: "oh boy, spontaneous humor abounding in Atlantic City."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 06, 2016 7 Comments
Hillary gets a pass from the FBI despite overwhelming evidence that she and her minions mishandled classified information and most of America is all ¯_(ツ)_/¯. Throughout the investigation, we've noted the abundance of inconsistencies in Hillary's ever-changing story, and there have been many. Yesterday, the RNC released a video highlighting Hillary's five biggest email lies and it's pretty perfect.

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 06, 2016 8 Comments
Bernie Sanders supporters have been clinging to a hope that if the FBI recommended indictment for Hillary Clinton, there was a chance the Democratic Party would dump her and nominate Bernie instead. That hope ended this week. Now that the FBI has let her off the hook, nothing will stop her nomination. Many Bernie supporters are disgusted and who could blame them? CNN reports:
Sanders supporters melt down over FBI's Clinton decision It's not only Donald Trump and Republicans expressing their indignation at the FBI's decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her handling of classified materials on a private email server.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 06, 2016 21 Comments
Last night, I emailed our Legal Insurrection leader Bill Jacobson to say I was counting on Joe Scarborough to have his finest moment this morning in light of the fiasco of the failure of the FBI to recommend the indictment of Hillary Clinton. This morning, Scarborough rose to the occasion. With significant support from Mika Brzezinski, Morning Joe's opening segment was one long blast at Hillary -- for doing what she did with her email and lying about it -- at James Comey -- for failing to indict -- and at President Obama -- for putting his thumb on the scale on Hillary's behalf. There were many noteworthy moments that you will find in the video montage we've assembled. One highlight: Scarborough says that while he doesn't question Comey's integrity, "I question his courage."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 06, 2016 16 Comments
Trump surrogates have been accused of debasing themselves by supporting The Donald. But have any sunk so low as poor Harold Ford, Jr., the Hillary surrogate who humiliated himself today on national TV? Appearing on With All Due Respect, former Dem congressman Ford, disagreed with Rudy Giuliani's statement made earlier in the day that Hillary Clinton could not get a security clearance given FBI Director Comey's conclusion that she acted "extremely carelessly" in the handling of classified material. When Ford claimed that if he were Attorney General, he would hire Hillary for a sensitive position involving national security, it seemed that host Mark Halperin could be heard, off camera, literally laughing in his face. Remind us never to hire Ford as Attorney General.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2016 61 Comments
FBI Director James Comey delivered the verdict on Hillary Clinton today - not guilty by reason of ... of ... of .... There are a lot of details on why this was a miscarriage of justice. The best starting place is Andy McCarthy's column at National Review, FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook. But those are mere details. Important details, critical details, details worth writing about -- but not the big picture. Noah Rothman at Commentary wrote:
No amount of cynicism could have prepared Americans for what they witnessed on Tuesday morning, and 2016 has not been short on cynicism.
Getting closer. The best truly big picture view I saw was from Karol Markowicz, a columnist for the NY Post and an ex-Soviet who moved the the United States as a child. In response to the Comey verdict, Markowicz tweeted out a statement as to how others who came from the USSR expected no other result:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 05, 2016 81 Comments
Despite describing Hillary's email debacle as "completely careless," the FBI announced earlier today it would not recommend prosecution. Professor Jacobson covered the decision in more detail here. Surprising? Not really. Maddening? Hell yes it is. Responses across the political spectrum are trickling in and Speaker Ryan minced no words, rejecting Clinton's "pattern of dishonesty and poor judgement":

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2016 127 Comments
FBI Director James Comey gave an on-camera press statement today from FBI headquarters, and is taking questions from reporters off camera. Despite finding serious problems and carelessness in handling classified information, rejecting claims that such information must be "marked" classified, and likelihood of foreign hacking, Comey says no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case because no bad intent. Somewhere, David Petreaus and dozens of others prosecuted in the past are crying. Legal Insurrection readers called it: https://legalinsurrection.com/2016/07/will-fbi-recommend-prosecuting-hillary-reader-poll/ (Full Text of Comey Statement at bottom of post)

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 03, 2016 84 Comments
So much speculation lately. From Loretta Lynch's impromptu, it-just-happened, guess-who-I-bumped-into private sit down with Bill Clinton, her saying she's staying out of it but maybe not, to Hillary's interview with the FBI, to supposed leaks by "sources" in both directions. The QUESTION IS NOT whether you want the FBI to recommend Hillary be prosecuted. The QUESTION IS whether you think the FBI will recommend Hillary be prosecuted.

Get it? The Reader Poll question is not what you want to happen, but what you think will happen.

It's Yes or No. A time for choosing. No "undecided" allowed. Make a choice, the FBI has to.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 02, 2016 58 Comments
Hillary's long-awaited date night with the FBI apparently took place this morning in Washington D.C. and lasted for 3 1/2 hours. ABC News reports:
Hillary Clinton gave a "voluntary interview" to the FBI today regarding her email arrangements while she was secretary of state, her campaign says. "Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while she was Secretary," spokesman Nick Merrill said. "She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion. Out of respect for the investigative process, she will not comment further on her interview." The interview occurred at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and lasted approximately three and a half hours, according to a Clinton aide.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 01, 2016 65 Comments
Who's even more powerful than the king? The person who gets to pick the king. And as of this morning that person is, quite possibly, FBI Director James Comey. Today's Morning Joe reported breaking news from the New York Times: Attorney General Loretta Lynch has decided that she will accept the recommendation of the FBI regarding its investigation of Hillary Clinton's e-mails. If Comey recommends against an indictment of Hillary, that would lift a huge cloud that has been dragging her candidacy down. It would put Hillary in a very strong position to become the next president. But should Comey recommend the indictment of Hillary, her candidacy would effectively be destroyed. Dems might scramble to replace her as their candidate, but in any case Donald Trump would be well-positioned to win the election.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 25, 2016 23 Comments
Governor David Ige of Hawaii has signed into law a bill that requires gun owners in that state to be registered in an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an Hawaii resident is arrested in another state. Fox News reports:
Hawaii signed a bill Thursday to become the first state to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country. Gov. David Ige said in a statement that the legislation is about community safety and responsible gun ownership. He said it will help law enforcement agencies protect Hawaii residents and visitors.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 23, 2016 14 Comments
Virginia's Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe is in a bit of hot water. Monday, CNN was the first to report McAuliffe was under the FBI and Justice Department microscope. At the center of the investigation -- whether certain donations to his election campaign were extra-legal. McAuliffe served as a board member for former President Clinton's Clinton Global Initiative. His time there is also part of the federal investigation.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on May 14, 2016 13 Comments
Hillary Clinton and her surrogates have been describing the FBI investigation into her private email server as a "security review" or "security inquiry."  That narrative, however, has been dismantled by FBI Director James Comey. Hillary appeared on the Today Show last month and laughed at the preposterous idea that she might be indicted and told host Matt Lauer that "there is not even the remotest chance that is going to happen" because the FBI investigation is just a "security review." The Washington Free Beacon reports:
“Do you think the FBI and the Justice Department write you a letter and say it was a misunderstanding? We’re sorry, carry on?” Lauer said. “Well, we’re certainly going to carry on. I think it’s a security review,” Clinton said. “It is a security review and there are lots of those that are conducted in our government all the time and you don’t hear about most of them. You hear about this one because, you know, it does involve me, so that’s why it gets so much attention.”
Comey, however, said this week that he has no idea what that means in terms of the FBI.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 21, 2016 15 Comments
The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account and home-brewed server won't be wrapping up anytime soon. Nor is the Democratic convention a consideration in the timeliness of the investigation. NBC reported FBI Director James Comey's remarks Thursday afternoon:
Asked about the case today at a security conference in London, he said, "Somebody asked me if the Democratic National Convention is a hard stop or a key date for you? Are you doing this aimed at that? And I said, no.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 11, 2016 6 Comments
Hillary Clinton no longer has to feel singled out for being investigated by the FBI. She is now joined by New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Mayor Bill de Blasio Defends Fundraising as Probe Widens New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his fundraising activities on Sunday after reports surfaced about a federal investigation into the matter, and said neither he nor his aides have been contacted by investigators. “Everything we’ve done is appropriate and carefully done with many, many lawyers, I assure you,” Mr. de Blasio said during an interview on NBC.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 10, 2016 29 Comments
President Obama has a history of publicly defending Hillary Clinton on her email scandal, and he did it again today on Fox News Sunday. Such public statements in and of themselves are improper political interference in agencies that report to the President. In a 60 Minutes interview in October 2015, Obama pretty much signaled Justice to lay off Hillary (emphasis added):
Steve Kroft: Did you know about Hillary Clinton’s use of private email server– President Barack Obama: No. Steve Kroft: –while she was Secretary of State? President Barack Obama: No.
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