On Saturday, July 2, 2016, Hillary Clinton walked into FBI headquarters and submitted to a three and a half hour interview about her handling of emails and classified information while she was serving as Secretary of State. At the time, Donald Trump was hardly in a mood to give her credit for voluntarily cooperating.
It is impossible for the FBI not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. What she did was wrong! What Bill did was stupid!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2016
The mention of Bill Clinton was a reference to his decision to meet with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on the runway of an Arizona airport. For Trump, this was evidence of collusion and a rigged game.
It was just announced-by sources-that no charges will be brought against Crooked Hillary Clinton. Like I said, the system is totally rigged!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2016
It was never likely that Hillary Clinton would be indicted, but she was willing to take the risk of an interview with the FBI without being forced to do it by a subpoena or court order. If she had lied or the investigators were not satisfied with her candor, she could have faced criminal charges.
I have no idea when or how the Office of Special Counsel will share their findings, but one thing I do know is that Donald Trump refused to meet with its investigators or to submit to an interview. He had his lawyers carefully craft answers to written questions, but he followed their advice not to show up in person and expose himself to additional criminal liability.
I don’t think Robert Mueller should have let this happen without a fight. I believe he should have taken the president to court in an effort to compel his cooperation. I could change my mind once I see how everything plays out, but I remember when Bill Clinton was compelled to testify about extramarital activities in a frivolous civil suit. When he lied, the perjury charges were piggy-backed onto the investigation of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr who was supposed to be looking into the Whitewater real estate deal in Arkansas. I thought the Supreme Court was wrong when they unanimously decided that Clinton would have to testify, but that’s now the legal precedent and it should have applied with double or triple force to an investigation about the integrity of a presidential election and a president who is likely compromised by a foreign power.
Maybe lawyers will tell me that Mueller might not have prevailed or that it would have caused too much delay, and I ultimately am not that exercised about this issue. I just want people to remember that Hillary Clinton cooperated voluntarily and Donald Trump did not. She could have gone to court, but she didn’t. Trump, through his lawyers, promised to go to court and then did not have to actually do it.
Also, please note that Hillary Clinton hasn’t been tweeting that it will be “impossible” the for investigation not to recommend criminal charges against Trump or anyone else. She isn’t saying the system is rigged. Unlike Trump, she’s acting like a president should.
I would imagine that within Mueller’s team there was strong, loud and persuasive arguments that were had about this topic, particularly as the team had likely gathered damning evidence of multiple acts by the time Mueller had to make his decision. And perhaps it will be something that galls him to his dying day.
Even if Mueller is able to throw the book at all things Trump in the coming weeks the damage to the Bill Clinton precedent is done.
Trump has weakened this Country in every way imaginable which is why I’m glad you gave the reminder that right now Hillary Clinton is responding like a President should.
Pretty sure Trump perjured himself extensively in written testimony regardless.
We’ll see though.
Agree, but will any of it matter? Shit if Obama had paid off a couple of porn stars they would have marched him off to a super max by now. Maybe the Mueller report will be much ado about nothing as Marcy speculated one outcome could be.
That’s why Trump was careful not to write a word of the answers or even orally dictate them to his lawyers. So, if the answers show a discrepancy with evidence that Mueller already has, Trump will just point his finger at the lawyers and say they lied not me. That’s the kind of coward he is.
I still can’t help but feel that people are putting way too much stock (and hope) in the sacrosanct Mueller report.
Me too.
AG
Well, Hillary responded as a responsible public servant should, as well as someone who hadn’t intentionally broken any laws. Der Trumper behaves like a perp.
As for Clinton v. Jones, and Mueller’s decision not to compel Trumper’s testimony, it is simply another case of the country’s institutions requiring compliance with the rule of law by Dem prezes, while allowing Repub prezes to evade legal process entirely. We have a complete double standard that essentially goes unremarked, just as this little “interview” issue has fallen down the memory hole.
We have condoned the creation of a lawless fascist party to the ruination of the nation.
If anyone has an argument for the system being rigged, it is Clinton specifically and democrats in general. The net effect thus far is, it is rigged FOR Trump. And I will continue to believe that as long as he continues to get away and not be held liable for not just crimes he committed before he got in office, but more importantly those committed while in office.
Just looking at Clinton’s “crimes” vs Trump’s during the campaign, clearly, Trump’s were the more problematic and with serious national security implications. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that keeping quiet about evidence on Trump while publicizing unfounded suspicions on Clinton was a double standard that not only violated DOJ policy in the case of Clinton but had political implications that damaged her campaign and helped Trump.
Hillary cooperating while Trump stonewalled is no longer newsworthy, since “breaking news” of Trump corruption occurs damn near every day that its treated as “normal” and little if anything is done, even though just imagine if even one of these incidents had bubbled to the surface during Obama’s term or with Clinton. And because of this “the debate” is consumed with talking ourselves off the ledge of something needs to be done to uphold the Constitution and rule of law, to come up with all sorts of political excuses mostly based on the assumption that “we can’t win” when it shouldn’t be about winning but doing what’s right. But that would be the case were we talking about Clinton or a democratic President. Then it would not be “normal” and the mantra we’d be hearing from those who pointedly refuse to make the point now is “no one is above the law.”
On a side note but this kind of highlights our own pathetic deficiencies as a nation with respect to this issue. New Zealand moved without delay to ban assault weapons and had a national call to prayer to show support for its Islamic residents. As a nation they saw an issue that was a threat and acted. Here we have a clear and present danger not just to the Constitution and rule of law, but damn, this clown has the effing nuclear codes! And we confine ourselves to what is politically expedient and in essence do nothing.
Its a damned shame, and I pray we don’t find ourselves one day sifting through the ashes of what’s left, wishing we had acted when we should have. I can imagine the Founders would be rolling in their graves as it were if they could see this.
It no longer takes much imagination to see how the situation looked to an informed citizen of Weimar Germany, circa 1932.
We’ve had everything but the Reichstag fire. Of course with Gravedigger of Democracy McConnell in charge, it’s arguable Der Trumper doesn’t need some brown-shirted stooge to strike the matches…
On a side note but this kind of highlights our own pathetic deficiencies as a nation with respect to this issue. New Zealand moved without delay to ban assault weapons and had a national call to prayer to show support for its Islamic residents. As a nation they saw an issue that was a threat and acted.
Do they have a parliament? It’s easier when government isn’t as convoluted as ours. Also, too, most places don’t have a death/gun cult like we do.