UPDATE: Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges relating to her use of a private email server, FBI director James Comey announced Tuesday.
Comey said that while bureau’s investigation found that Hillary Clinton and her aides at the state department were “extremely careless” in their handling of classified information, “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring charges in the case.
The final decision on whether bring charges in the case lies with the Department of Justice, but U.S. attorney general Loretta Lynch has already said that she would follow the FBI’s recommendation. The development means that Lynch may stay on as attorney general if Hillary is elected president, an outcome that just became a lot more likely.
In an extensive report on Hillary’s White House plans published over the weekend, the New York Times casually mentioned that Hillary is considering retaining Lynch as attorney general as part of her goal to prioritize diversity in her administration. Lynch is the first black woman to hold the office.
The suggestion is more than a little controversial, given that Lynch is the government official who will ultimately decide whether to bring federal charges against Clinton if an FBI investigation concludes that the former secretary of state violated the law and put national security at risk by conducting official business over an unapproved private email server.
The inherent conflict was brought to light last week, when news surfaced of a meeting between Lynch and former president Bill Clinton — even Democrats were shaking their heads at the terrible optics of the meeting, which both parties insist did not involve a discussion of the FBI investigation. The bureau recently interviewed Hillary for more than three hours as part of the ongoing probe.
Critics have also noted the controversial nature of President Obama’s official endorsement of Clinton, given the fact that his administration, and Lynch specifically, will ultimately determine Hillary’s fate before the law. Obama and Clinton will travel aboard Air Force One on Tuesday to a campaign stop in North Carolina, where the president will make his first appearance by Clinton’s side since announcing his endorsement.
Clinton and the president have both confidently stated that there will be no federal indictment resulting from the FBI investigation into her emails. Lynch, for her part, has declined to recuse herself from the case, against the recommendations of some legal experts. Lynch has said she plans to accept the recommendations of the FBI and her subordinate attorneys at the Department of Justice.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly made false statements regarding the nature of her email setup during her time as secretary of state.
FBI director James Comey is scheduled to address reporters on Tuesday regarding some unknown topic.
FBI director Comey talking to the press today at 11, three days after Hillary Clinton interview
— Julian Hattem (@jmhattem) July 5, 2016
It will look bad if, right after the Clinton-Lynch plane meeting, the FBI clears Hillary on the day Obama starts campaigning for her.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 5, 2016
TAKE THE POLL
