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Hillary Clinton Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 16, 2015 69 Comments
As I mentioned in prior posts, from the very start Hillary Clinton's email and server stories were inconsistent and self-contradictory. On the one hand, in her March 10, 2015 press conference, Hillary said the server housing her email system would not be turned over because it contained personal messages between her and Bill. Hillary's answer suggested that the server existed and was under her control. (Put aside that Bill's spokesman says he only sent two emails in his life, when he was President.)
The server contains personal communications from my husband and me, and I believe I have met all of my responsibilities and the server will remain private … [transcript]
https://youtu.be/k5WZdyCI4Uc?t=9m55s On the other hand, we now know that the actual server which ran the email system while Hillary was Secretary of State was taken into the custody of Colorado-based Platte River Networks in or about June 2013, the data was transferred somewhere, the server was wiped clean, and then physically stored in New Jersey.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 15, 2015 10 Comments
Plenty of people in political media are taking note of the large crowds Bernie Sanders is drawing at his events, but at the end of the day, it still might not be enough for Sanders to trounce Clinton. Philip Bump of the Washington Post recently took a hard look at the numbers:
100,000 people have attended Bernie Sanders events this month. That doesn’t mean much. Some 28,000 people attended Bernie Sanders's rally in Portland, Ore., on Sunday -- both in the venue and watching outside. The Fix's Chris Cillizza marveled at the turnout. "28,000 people! In August! Of an off year!" Cillizza wrote. "I mean, that is a lot. A LOT." It's an amount that exceeds one out of every 10 people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 in Multnomah County, in fact. And then, the next day, Sanders pulled the same number in Los Angeles -- meaning that in seven events since July 1, Sanders spoke before 100,000 people. So what does this mean? I hate to say it -- and I hate to rain on Sanders' well-attended parade -- but: It doesn't mean a whole lot.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 15, 2015 17 Comments
Hillary still is the odds-on favorite to get the Democratic nomination because of her enormous war chest and gigantic operative staff and SuperPACs. But the Clinton Machine is not doing nearly as well as expected, and is in trouble in early states against Bernie Sanders. The crowds are turning out for Bernie, and Hillary's favorability and trustworthiness ratings are plummeting. Part of this is driven by Hillary's inherent phoniness and crony capitalism, but much of it is being driven by the email destruction and private server scandal. First, there was denial.  At her March 10, 2015 press conference Hillary denied there was a problem, and insisted that there was no classified information used on her personal email account. Second, there was anger that anyone would want to inspect the server, since it contained personal messages between her and Bill. Third, there was bargaining. We'll give you documents, but only what we want to give you, and when we feel like giving it to you. But no inspection of the server. Never. Fourth, there was depression, with the disclosure that there were Top Secret satellite and signals intelligence contained in emails, and that the Intelligence Community Inspector General had recommended an investigation into the potentially criminal mishandling of intelligence information.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 14, 2015 25 Comments
We noted in a post yesterday that the federal court, in the Judicial Watch FOIA case involving records relating to Huma Abedin's outside employment. had ordered to Department of State to make a supplemental filing today as to efforts to search the server turned over by Hillary to the Department of Justice. The State Department just filed an August 14, 2015 Status Report (full embed at bottom of post), in which it states that it is not even attempting to search the server. The reason is that the server is not under State Dept. control, and it does not feel legally obligated to try to search a server in the possession of another agency. In addition, the State Dept. says that is it relying on Hillary's declaration under penalty of perjury that all documents which are or potentially are federal records already have been produced by Hillary's attorneys. This makes Hillary's sworn declaration all the more central. As we documented last night, there are gaps in the explanation given by Hillary and her attorney's as to the server, including searches. James F. Peterson, a Senior Attorney at Judicial Watch,* provided the following statement:
“The State Department again has ignored a court order to provide any additional details about the missing emails of Secretary Clinton and her staff. Additional court-ordered steps to discover this information plainly are now required.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 13, 2015 29 Comments
There is a time gap which may hold the key to Hillary's hide-and-seek email game. According to the Washington Post and other reporting, a Colorado server company obtained possession of Hillary's server in 2013, transferred the data, leaving a blank server with no usable data at a storage facility in New Jersey. Yet, in a letter filed on August 12, 2015 with the federal Court in the Judicial Watch FOIA litigation regarding Huma Abedin's outside employment, Hillary's lawyer, David Kendall. represented that Hillary did not ask counsel to review her emails until late 2014. [Full embed at bottom of post.] He also confirmed that the Colorado company has had possession of the original server since 2013. David Kendall letter Clinton Emails 8-12-2015 excerpt * * * David Kendall letter Clinton Emails 8-12-2015 excerpt 2 So how could Hillary's lawyers review a server no longer in Hillary's possession, and which had been wiped clean?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 13, 2015 31 Comments
Hillary is politically wounded by her never-ending email scandal, which keeps sucking the life out of her favorability ratings, and has Democrats panicked with fear:
“I’m not sure they completely understand the credibility they are losing, by the second,” said one Democratic strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “At some point this goes from being something you can rationalize away to something that becomes political cancer. And we are getting pretty close to the cancer stage, because this is starting to get ridiculous." “Look, this is a classic example of the cover-up being 10 times worse than the so-called crime — though in this case there wasn't a crime,” said another progressive strategist. “The culture of secrecy that has surrounded the Clintons — understandably, in some cases — has now yielded a situation where she did something that wasn't necessary and looks nefarious.”
Joe Biden insiders are making it known he's seriously considering a run in the wake of Hillary's stumbles and Bernie Sanders' surprising surge. Elizabeth Warren is a likely entrant if Hillary falls further and Democrats seek a savior. Even John Kerry -- just before Hillary's current troubles started -- said "Nobody says never"' -- so he must be relishing a run now, particularly if he cements the Iran deal. But the best sign that Hillary is in trouble is that even Al Gore insiders are talking up a potential run. Yes, Al Gore. From Buzzfeed, Al Gore Insiders “Figuring Out If There’s A Path” For Him To Run:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 13, 2015 29 Comments
The Hillary email scandal gets curiouser and curiouser with the revelation that among the emails already identified were at least two emails containing top secret satellite and signals intelligence. The Daily Beast reported yesterday, The Spy Satellite Secrets in Hillary’s Emails:
... There is no doubt that she, or someone on her State Department staff, violated federal law by putting TOP SECRET//SI information on an unclassified system. That it was Hillary’s private, offsite server makes the case even worse from a security viewpoint. Claims that they “didn’t know” such information was highly classified do not hold water and are irrelevant. It strains belief that anybody with clearances didn’t recognize that NSA information, which is loaded with classification markings, was signals intelligence, or SIGINT. It’s possible that the classified information found in Clinton’s email trove wasn’t marked as such. But if that classification notice was omitted, it wasn’t the U.S. intelligence community that took such markings away. Moreover, anybody holding security clearances has already assumed the responsibility for handling it properly.
Now it's reported that Hillary's original private server used to handle the classified information, which was turned over to a Colorado company in 2013, was in storage in New Jersey but contains no data, via WaPo:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 12, 2015 29 Comments
All the pieces are falling into place for Elizabeth Warren to enter the presidential race. First, long before Hillary began to falter, I predicted that Elizabeth Warren would crush Hillary, and they both know it:
For all my criticisms of Warren, and they are extensive, I am convinced that if she ran, she would crush Hillary, just as Obama did. Warren, as did Obama, has a unique ability to demagogue the core Democratic narrative of victimhood in ways that would make Hillary blush. She is more cunning than Hillary, more popular with the base, would bring an excitement the contrived Ready-for-Hillary movement could only dream of. Democrats may be “ready” for Hillary, but they don’t really want her.
Bernie Sanders' success in mounting a credible campaign is the best evidence that Warren would crush Hillary. Sanders is a proxy for Warren, the second choice of the progressive movement when Warren declined to run (for now). Imagine how HUGE the crowds would be for Warren, if Sanders is getting crowds in the tens of thousands. Second, Sanders' message is Warren's message. The system is rigged by Wall Street and the banks against the little people:

Posted by Jay Caruso on August 12, 2015 21 Comments
Marco Rubio recently spoke about his views on abortion, and in particular, in cases where the pregnancy resulted as a result of rape or incest:
Marco Rubio has defended his record as an opponent of abortion, against criticism arising from his statement during the first Republican presidential debate on Thursday that he had never advocated for exceptions of any kind, even if a woman’s life was in danger or when she had been raped. “I personally and deeply believe that all human life is worthy of the protection of our laws,” the Florida senator said, in an interview broadcast on NBC on Sunday. “I believe that irrespective of the conditions in which that life was conceived or anything else.”
Hillary Clinton saw an opening and attempted to release some kind of inner Ronald Reagan in a weird way when she decided to attack Marco Rubio (not by name) for his views on abortion. However, in doing so, she thought it might be a good idea to let the country know just how much older she is than Senator Rubio:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 11, 2015 53 Comments
From day one we have been saying "get the server." On March 11, 2015, after Hillary's infamous UN press conference regarding the server, I wrote, Hillary’s consciousness of guilt:
Why volunteer that she deleted personal emails, and drag the red herring across the trail to lead the discussion towards Chelsea, her mother and yoga? Remember, Hillary said she would not turn over the server because it had personal emails on it, but then inconsistently said the personal emails were not on the server because she chose “not to keep” them. Hillary gave away the game at that point to me. Hillary showed a consciousness of guilt and deliberate misdirection. Get the server.
https://youtu.be/k5WZdyCI4Uc?t=2m31s Now the Feds will.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 11, 2015 17 Comments
Tasked with digging into the security of Hillary's home brewed email server, the FBI investigation into presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is expanding it's reach. A local CBS News affiliate reports the Denver based Platte River Networks received a visit from the FBI last week regarding former Secretary Clinton's email. Platte River Networks handled the Clinton's email accounts though there's been no public explanation as to what that entailed.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 10, 2015 47 Comments
Part of the chase for Hillary's emails is taking place in Congress. Another part is taking place in federal court in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch seeking records as to employment outside the State Department by close Hillary aide Huma Abedin (Anthony Weiner's wife). The Washington Free Beacon reports on the background:
The State Department Inspector General is now investigating the arrangement between Huma Abedin and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Inspector Steve Linick is looking into the program that allowed Clinton to hire Abedin for government work even though she was employed by a private firm. In May 2013, the New York Times reported that Abedin never disclosed her earnings and the private consulting that she was conducting outside of the State Department while continuing to serve as Clinton’s top adviser. Abedin worked for Teneo, which was founded by Doug Band, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. The corporate client list for Teneo has included Coca-Cola and MF Global, the since-folded brokerage firm run by Jon S. Corzine.
Hillary has been playing hide the ball with records she used through her private email account and server.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 10, 2015 26 Comments
The Democratic Party recently released its primary debate schedule and compared to the prolonged schedule of 2008, it's tiny. Party leaders are obviously trying to protect Hillary Clinton by limiting the amount of damage that could be done to her campaign in debate soundbites and video clips, but her Democratic rivals are calling foul. Ed Henry of FOX News recently shared what he's hearing from other Democrats and makes an excellent point. Back in 2008, the brutal primary battle between Obama and Hillary made Obama a better candidate. Via the Washington Free Beacon:
Henry: Democrats Tell Me They’re ‘Worried’ About Clinton Avoiding Media and Debates Fox News correspondent Ed Henry said Friday Democrats have told him they are “worried” about Hillary Clinton’s ability to get into general campaign shape due to the party’s limited debate schedule and her avoidance of the media. “I hear from Democrats, actually, they’re worried about Hillary Clinton,” he said. “Not taking a lot of questions from the media, although she’s started doing more, we should note. But also not doing debates until later because she’s not going to get into fighting shape. One reason Barack Obama was so tough in 2008: he had a brutal primary against Hillary Clinton. A lot of debates. They were tough. They mixed it up, but that made Barack Obama a better candidate.”
Watch the video:

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 02, 2015 14 Comments
Huma Abedin is widely known as one of Hillary Clinton's most trusted aides and advisers. She's also known for keeping a low public profile and for being the wife of Anthony Weiner, aka Carlos Danger. According to a new report by Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman, and Carol D. Leonnig of the Washington Post, Ms. Abedin is now going to be the subject of another scandal for Mrs. Clinton's campaign:
Top Clinton aide accused of receiving overpayments at State Department State Department investigators concluded this year that Huma Abedin, one of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s closest aides, was overpaid by nearly $10,000 because of violations of rules governing vacation and sick leave during her tenure as an official in the department. The finding — which Abedin has formally contested — emerged publicly Friday after Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) sent letters to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and others seeking more information about an investigation into possible “criminal” conduct by Abedin concerning her pay.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 31, 2015 43 Comments
File this under: Things that would be hilarious if they weren't real life and cross-reference under Not The Onion. As if Hillary Clinton using a personal email account and home brewed server while serving as Secretary of State weren't inept enough, Clinton's private attorney is running around with a thumb drive full of classified info. You read that correctly -- a thumb drive. flashbam Mind you, Clinton has sworn time, and time again that no classified information was transmitted via her personal email account. Which, as we've noted repeatedly begs the question -- how the hell did she do her job?! In any case, the Inspector General debunked the whole "I did not send classified information from my email account" claim. And now we learn that her attorney has a pocket-full of classified info.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 30, 2015 8 Comments
Though it's no longer leading the headlines, EmailGate is still alive and well. Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account and private servers during her tenure as Secretary of State was bound to be problematic. When use of a private email account initially surfaced, Clinton repeatedly insisted no classified information was sent from her personal email account. Late last week, the Inspector General debunked Clinton's claims saying classified information had in fact been transmitted through the former Secretary's private email.
The inspector general for the intelligence community has informed members of Congress that some material Hillary Clinton emailed from her private server contained classified information, but it was not identified that way. Because it was not identified, it is unclear whether Clinton realized she was potentially compromising classified information. The IG reviewed a "limited sampling" of her emails and among those 40 reviewed found that "four contained classified [intelligence community] information," wrote the IG Charles McCullough in a letter to Congress. McCullough noted that "none of the emails we reviewed had classification or dissemination markings" but that some "should have been handled as classified, appropriately marked, and transmitted via a secure network." The four emails in question "were classified when they were sent and are classified now," spokeswoman Andrea Williams told CNN. McCullough said that State Department Freedom of Information Act officials told the intelligence community IG that "there are potentially hundreds of classified emails within the approximately 30,000 provided by former Secretary Clinton."

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 29, 2015 12 Comments
As Ed Morrissey comments at Hot Air, "Profiles in Courage this ain’t." At a campaign event in New Hampshire yesterday, an attendee asked Hillary if she would approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. Her answer, if you can call it one, was that she would answer the question if and when she becomes president. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post wasn't impressed:
Hillary Clinton’s ridiculous hedge on Keystone XL "If it’s undecided when I become president, I will answer your question," Clinton said. "This is President Obama's decision. I'm not going to second-guess him." Er, what? Clinton went on to note that she was in a position unique among the 2016 field due to her time as secretary of state. "I'm in a different position than any other candidate," Clinton said. "I was there. I put this process together. I oversaw it for four years." (Because the pipeline would begin in Canada, its approval -- or not -- is in the hands of the State Department.) Uh huh.
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