Hillary mishandles classified and top secret information, literally destroying evidence which has always constituted a prima facie case of obstruction of justice, and the DOJ does nothing. Now, Biden, Pence and Trump all possess classified material, Trump being the only person who actually had declassifying authority during his term as President and could have declassified anything, and the DOJ decides to prosecute him, citing, “Everyone is equal under the law”. Well, no they’re not. Presidents have special exceptions only available to them. In the meantime, we read the Horowitz, Muelller, and Durham reports, ALL excoriating the FBI for unprofessional conduct in the investigation of Donald J. Trump. Conduct which could now, in retrospect, rightfully be described as the "weaponization" of the DOJ.
Some years ago, I investigated the DOJ's admissions with regard to their investigation in the Hillary confidential document scandal. Below are my personal notes which show just how ONE SIDED the DOJ is in terms of who they choose to investigate and who they don't.
U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, July 2016, Clinton E-Mail Investigation, Mishandling of Classified - Unkown Subject or Country (SIM).
FBI Hillary Clinton Investigation Extracts:
The alleged focus of the investigation was?
pp. 1-2, “The FBI's investigation focused on determining whether classified information was transmitted or stored on unclassified systems in violation of federal criminal statutes and whether classified information was compromised by unauthorized individuals, to include foreign governments or intelligence services, via cyber intrusion or other means.”
Classified to the bone.
P. 2, “US Intelligence Community (USIC) agencies determined that 81 e-mail chains, which FBI investigation determined were transmitted and stored on Clinton's UNCLASSIFIED personal server systems, contained classified information ranging from the CONFIDENTIAL to TOP SECRET/SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM levels at the time they were sent between 2009-2013. USIC agencies determined that 68 of these e-mail chains remain classified.”
And there was more.
P.2, “In addition, the classification determination process administered by the US Department of State (State) in connection with Freedom of lnformation Act (FOIA) litigation identified approximately 2,000 additional e-mails currently classified CONFIDENTIAL and 1 e-mail currently classified SECRET, which FBI investigation determined were transmitted and stored on at least two of Clinton' s personal server systems.”
We have absolutely no idea, but we’re going to comment on it anyway.
P.2, “…investigative limitations, including the FBI's inability to obtain all mobile devices and various computer components associated with Clinton's personal e-mail systems, prevented the FBI from conclusively determining whether the classified information transmitted and stored on Clinton's personal server systems was compromised via cyber intrusion or other means.”
She probably wasn’t hacked directly.
P.2, “The FBI did find that hostile foreign actors successfully gained access to the personal e-mail accounts of individuals with whom Clinton was in regular contact and, in doing so, obtained e-mails sent to or received by Clinton on her personal account.”
So Network Solutions has computer records that I registered the domain. It’s their word against mine!
P.3, “While Cooper (Justin Cooper, an aide to ex-President Clinton) could not specifically recall registering the domain, Cooper was listed as the point of contact for clintonemail.com when the domain was registered with a domain registration services company, Network Solutions, on January 13, 2009.”
Note: Seriously, he couldn’t remember registering a domain for Hillary Clinton (his boss’s wife) which Network Solutions divulged was registered by him?
Clinton’s are so down to earth that they would not allow state owned data to be backed up in the clouds.
P.7, “At the Clintons' request, PRN (computer company) only intended that the backup device store local copies of the backups. However, in August 2015, Datto informed PRN that, due to a technical oversight, the PRN Server was also backing up the server to Datto' s secure cloud storage. After this notification, PRN instructed Datto to discontinue the secure cloud backups.” Clinton’s here intentionally sought to physically maintain the email data under their sole control.
What flip phone?
P. 8, “Cooper indicated Clinton usually carried a flip phone along with her BlackBerry because it was more comfortable for communication and Clinton was able to use her BlackBerry while talking on the flip phone. Clinton believed 212-xxx-xxxx was her primary BlackBerry phone number, and she did not recall using a flip phone during her tenure at State, only during her service in the Senate… Abedin and Mills advised they were unaware of Clinton ever using a cellular phone other than the BlackBerry.”
My dog ate my 13 mobile devices darn it! Why is that so hard to believe?
P. 9, “FBI investigation identified 13 total mobile devices, associated with her two known phone numbers… which potentially were used to send e-mails using Clinton's clintonemail.com e-mail addresses. Investigation determined Clinton used, in succession, 11 e-mail capable BlackBerry mobile devices associated with [phone numbers], eight of which she used during her tenure as Secretary of State. Investigation identified Clinton used two e-mail capable mobile devices associated with [phone numbers] after her tenure. On February 9, 2016, DOJ requested all 13 mobile devices from Williams & Connolly. Williams & Connolly replied on February 22, 2016 that they were unable to locate any of these devices. As a result, the FBI was unable to acquire or forensically examine any of these 13 mobile devices.”
Okay, who stole my other two iPads?
P.9, “The FBI identified five iPad devices associated with Clinton which potentially were used to send e-mails from Clinton's clintonemail.com e-mail addresses. The FBI obtained three of the iPads…”
“Beat it, beat it, take a hammer and hit it…”
P.9, “Abedin and Hanley indicated the whereabouts of Clinton's devices would frequently become unknown once she transitioned to a new device. Cooper did recall two instances where he destroyed Clinton's old mobile devices by breaking them in half or hitting them with a hammer…”
I'm not above the law. I simply don’t factor it in when making decisions. Duh.
P. 10, “The OIG (Office of the Inspector General) stated it found "no evidence" that Clinton sought approval to conduct State business via her personal e-mail account or private servers, despite her obligation to do so. Clinton told the FBI that she did not explicitly request permission from State to use a private server or e-mail address.”
I know that! Don’t you think I know that!!?
P. 11, “The FBI investigation indicated Clinton was aware her use of a personal device, email account, and server did not negate her obligation to preserve federal records.”
Speak a little slower. I’m taking notes here.
P. 12, “On January 23, 2009, Clinton contacted former Secretary of State Colin Powell via e-mail to inquire about his use of a BlackBerry while he was Secretary of State (January 2001 to January 2005). In his e-mail reply, Powell warned Clinton that if it became "public" that Clinton had a BlackBerry, and she used it to "do business," her e-mails could become "official record[s] and subject to the law." Powell further advised Clinton, "Be very careful. I got around it all by not saying much and not using systems that captured the data." Clinton indicated to the FBI that she understood Powell's comments to mean any work-related communications would be government records, and she stated Powell's comments did not factor into her decision to use a personal e-mail account.”
To FOIA or not to FOIA, that is the question!
P. 11, “In an e-mail to Mills on August 30, 2011, State Executive Secretary, Stephen Mull, cited a request from Clinton to replace her temporarily malfunctioning personal BlackBerry with a State-issued device. Mull informed Mills that a State-issued replacement device for Clinton's personal BlackBerry would be subject to FOIA requests. On that same day, Bentel sent a separate e-mail to Hanley, which was later forwarded to Abedin, stating that e-mails sent to a State e-mail address for Clinton would be "subject to FOIA searches." A State-issued device was not ultimately issued to Clinton; in her FBI interview, Abedin stated she felt it did not make sense to temporarily issue Clinton a State BlackBerry because it would have required significant effort to transfer all of her e-mails and contacts to a device that she would have only used for a few days. The Mull and Bentel e-mails to Mills and Hanley did not indicate that transferring e-mail and/or contacts from Clinton's clintonemail.com account would be necessary to issue her a State BlackBerry. Abedin stated she always assumed all of Clinton's communications, regardless of the account, would be subject to FOIA if they contained work related material.”
Let them eat cake!
P. 11, “State employees were cautioned about security and records retention concerns regarding the use of personal e-mail. In 2011, a notice to all State employees was sent on Clinton's behalf, which recommended employees avoid conducting State business from personal e-mail accounts due to information security concerns. Clinton stated she did not recall this specific notice, and she did not recall receiving any guidance from State regarding e-mail policies outlined in the State FAM. Interviews with two State employees determined that State issued guidance which required employees who used personal e-mail accounts for State business to forward those work-related e-mails to their official State account for record-keeping purposes.”
Nobody told me I had to preserve records. Besides, the little people have them anyway.
P.12, “State OIG also determined Clinton should have surrendered all e-mails relating to State business before leaving her post as Secretary of State. Clinton stated that she received no instructions or direction regarding the preservation or production of records from State during the transition out of her role as Secretary of State in early 2013. Furthermore, Clinton believed her work-related e-mails were captured by her practice of sending e-mails to State employees' official State e-mail accounts.”
I absolutely turned everything work related over. Maybe.
P. 16, “Samuelson reviewed the "To," "From," and "Subject" fields of every e-mail during this review; however, she did not read the content of each individual e-mail, indicating that, in some instances, she made a determination as to whether it was one of Clinton's work or personal e-mails by only reviewing the "To," "From," and "Subject" fields of the e-mail.”
So who’s lying?
P. 13, “According to Abedin, Cooper, there were personally-owned desktop computers in the SCIFs in Whitehaven and Chappaqua. Conversely, Clinton stated to the FBI she did not have a computer of any kind in the SCIFs in her residences.”
Okay, so just listen to me and ignore what Abedin and Cooper told you.
P. 48, Clinton provides FBI with the following statement, “Additionally, State outfitted Clinton’s residences in Washington, DC and Chappaqua, New York with a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). Each SCIF had a combination lock that only Clinton knew the combination to. The SCIFs in both residences were outfitted with secure video teleconference equipment, and the same phone systems as in her office at State. Clinton did not have a computer terminal of any kind in the SCIFs at her residences, but did have a facsimile machine capable of secure and unsecure transmission.”
I have the experience to be President! (Whatever that means.)
P. 49, “Clinton was not aware how other State staff maintained their records and was unaware of State’s State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset.”
I can’t remember. Seriously.
P. 49, “Clinton could not recall when she first received her security clearance… Clinton could not recall any briefing or training by State related to the retention of federal records or handling of classified information.”
P. 49, “Clinton was aware she was an Original Classification Authority (OCA) at State. Clinton could not recall how often she used this authority or any training or guidance provided by State. Clinton COULD NOT give an example of how classification of a document was determined. Clinton stated there was a process at State before she arrived and SHE RELIED ON THE CAREER FOREIGN SERVICE PROFESSIONALS she worked with to appropriately handle and mark classified information.”
P.49, “Clinton recalled being briefed on Special Access Program (SAP) information but could not recall any specific briefing on how to handle information associated with SAPs.
P. 50, “Clinton could not recall a specific process for nominating a target for a drone strike and recalled much debate pertaining to the concurrence process. Clinton knew there was a role for DoD, State and the CIA but could not provide specifics as to what it was.”
P. 52, “Clinton was not aware of State employee [Name redacted] expressing concerns Clinton’s email server was not compliant with the FRA.”
So people find out who we’re going to bomb. So what?
P. 53, “Clinton stated deliberation over a future drone strike did not give her cause for concern regarding classification. Clinton understood this type of conversation as part of the routine deliberation process.”
Oops. My bad.
P. 55, “Clinton believed she was asking Sullivan to remove the State letterhead and provided unclassified talking points. Clinton stated she had no intention to remove the classification markings.”
Oh, so that’s what the BIG FAT “C” means!!! Thanks.
P. 55, “After reviewing an email dated April 9, 2012, with subject line “Call to President Banda,” Clinton stated she did not remember the email specifically. When asked what the parenthetical “C” meant before a paragraph within the captioned email, Clinton stated she did not know and could only speculate it was referencing paragraphs marked in alphabetical order. Clinton could not say for sure if the parenthetical “C” is used for portion marking classified documents... Clinton was not concerned the displayed email contained classified information.”
Hey, I blame my lawyers even though it’s my responsibility.
P. 57, “Concerning the Congressional preservation request on March 3, 2015 for email and other records, Clinton trusted her legal team would comply with the request.”
FBI? No problem. I’ve got them covered. Keep that President chair warm for me!
P. 58, Based on her testimony, FBI stated that “Clinton had no knowledge regarding: The specific process and procedures used by Clinton’s legal team and PRN to separate her work and personal email and the March 2015 deletions [of emails] by PRN. ” [Give me a break man]