Former U.S. Attorney: If Loretta Lynch Fails to Indict Hillary She Won’t Survive
Former US attorney, Joe DiGenova expects Hillary to be indicted over the next few months on charges relating to her illicit email server. She could even be tried under the Espionage Act, because under that law, you do not have to leak information on purpose, gross negligence makes you just as guilty. She would be guilty whether anyone hacked her or not. AG Loretta Lynch has refused to take other cases, most notably the Lois Lerner/IRS case, but this time it’s different.
The Obama administration has prosecuted the most cases of leaked information of any president. This includes war hero Gen David Petraeus. Because of his conviction, Petraeus can no longer work anywhere inside the federal government because he can no longer receive a security clearance. Yes, a conviction for Hillary would prevent her from the presidency.
So far, the State Department has found that 1200 plus of her emails contain classified information, making her the worst leaker right behind Edward Snowden. The fact is that since 1945, there have been eleven cases of people being prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Seven of those are during the Obama administration. Not charging Hillary under the same act for such egregious acts would become in itself problematic.
I have held the opinion that Clinton would get a pass but Digenova’s comments have made me stop and think and do a little research. What happens if Hillary isn’t charged? All seven of the others prosecuted by the Obama administration could theoretically sue to have their records expunged and for damages both real and punitive for selective prosecution:
In jurisprudence, selective prosecution is a procedural defense in which a defendant argues that he should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as the criminal justice system discriminated against him by choosing to prosecute. In a claim of selective prosecution, a defendant essentially argues that it is irrelevant whether he is guilty of violating a law, but that the fact of being prosecuted is based upon forbidden reasons. Such a claim might, for example, entail an argument that persons of different age, race, religion, or gender, were engaged in the same illegal actions for which the defendant is being tried and were not prosecuted, and that the defendant is onlybeing prosecuted because of a bias. In the US, this defense is based upon the 14th Amendment, which stipulates, “nor shall any state deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
DiGenova offered his opinion on what would happen if Hillary isn’t prosecuted and I must admit, reading that has me wondering if it is really possible or whether Lynch would fall on her sword for Hillary.
DiGenova pointed out that:
“It’s going to be a very complex matter for the Department of Justice, but they’re not going to be able to walk away from it. They are now at over 1,200 classified emails. And, that’s just for the ones we know about from the State Department. That does not include the ones that the FBI is, in fact, recovering from her hard drives.”
“I believe that the evidence that the FBI is compiling will be so compelling that, unless [Lynch] agrees to the charges, there will be a massive revolt inside the FBI, which she will not be able to survive as an attorney general. It will be like Watergate. It will be unbelievable.”
“The evidence against the Clinton staff and the secretary is so overwhelming at this point that if, in fact, she chooses not to charge Hillary, they will never be able to charge another federal employee with the negligent handling of classified information. The intelligence community will not stand for that. They will fight for indictment and they are already in the process of gearing themselves to basically revolt if she refuses to bring charges.”
At any rate, it will be interesting to watch, although I am not convinced she will face charges.
http://www.thepcgraveyard.com/2016/01/06/former-u-s-attorney-if-loretta-lynch-fails-to-indict-hillary-she-wont-survive/
