Hillary Broke the Law and It’s All My Fault

 

Big news Monday night as the New York Times reported Hillary Clinton used a personal email account to conduct all official State Department business. This appears to be a violation of federal law since such communications must be kept as an official agency record.

Twitter was abuzz with commentary, with many reporters incredulous.

Shock of shocks, I responded to the BuzzFeed Politics journalist with a mild critique.

It’s obvious why Clinton and so many other Obama officials get away with breaking the law. The D.C. press corps has little interest in holding their favorite president accountable. Sure, this White House might have a flaw here or there but he means well, and did you hear what crazy Todd Akin said about dinosaurs and contraception?

By pointing out this obvious bias, I broke Beltway etiquette. Team Journolist lashed out.

Actually, the Fourth Estate didn’t expose this. Trey Gowdy did:

The existence of Mrs. Clinton’s personal email account was discovered by a House committee investigating the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi as it sought correspondence between Mrs. Clinton and her aides about the attack.

The Daily Beast’s Jackie Kucinich admitted as much. But now that I had mildly criticized a fellow Beltway reporter, I had to be mocked.

A reporter from the New York Times jumped in as well:

Rosie Gray’s editor joined in the fun by mocking Breitbart (one day after the anniversary of his death, incidentally):

Four highly paid Acela elites ganging up on a lowly Ricochet editor? I thanked them all for holding me accountable for daring to question the Fourth Estate. Confessore said that was “lazy cynical [expletive]” and issued a long rant ridiculing anyone who suggests the media is biased.

It always amazes me how reporters — professionals dedicated to questioning others — have such thin skin when they themselves are questioned. Unlike these pros, I was calm, polite and used no profanity; they still reacted with rage. Despite their claim to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” their actions show otherwise.

There was a single Twitter headshake wondering how one of the most powerful people on the planet got away with violating federal law for years. This was followed by a barrage of ridicule, mockery and outrage attacking a lowly citizen who typed “Asked the journalist.”

The D.C. press corps is so unsettled by offering even the mildest concern about Democrats that they must quickly return to their comfort zone mocking proles. There is little interest in questioning the rich and powerful, it’s all about defending their tribe. The Clintons certainly don’t view Gray, Confessore, et al., as fellow elites, but this only makes these reporters more desperate to flaunt the tribal markers.

Kudos to the New York Times for grudgingly holding a liberal accountable now and then. But if you want to see zeal, wait until Gov. Walker says something about evolution.

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  1. Tired Pappy Inactive
    Tired Pappy
    @TiredPappy

    All I can say about this whole thing is, What difference, at this point, does it make?

    • #61
  2. Julia PA Inactive
    Julia PA
    @JulesPA

    Who cares about a “twit-spat.” Hillary in a blue dress is bigger news. :)

    jk

    • #62
  3. Carol Member
    Carol
    @

    A commenter on the NYT story actually said just that. That, who cares, because it’s time for a woman president. Really.

    • #63
  4. Beowulf's accountant Member
    Beowulf's accountant
    @

    Hillary’s mobility problems have been well documented by Andrew Stiles, Ace and others. (Her Walker problems go beyond Scott.) But until I saw that picture I did not know She had to be strapped on to a board and propped up.

    • #64
  5. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Doug Watt:

    The fourth estate.  Let’s call it something else. 

    Lets call them what they are.

    minstry

    • #65
  6. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Claire Berlinski:It’s not just the journalists I’m wondering about.

    How many people received an e-mail from her personal account and either failed to think, “That is a national security breach, which is bad,” or immediately thought, “That is a national security breach, which is fascinating?”

    Isn’t State Department e-mail supposed to be encrypted? In a rather different way than a private e-mail account? And for very good reasons?

    I mean–this is beyond, “The journalists didn’t notice,” isn’t it?

    Does anyone know what kind of personal e-mail account the Secretary of State was using to send what you have to assume everyone in the world wants to know, but shouldn’t?

    All I know is, when I worked for the Navy Department, as part of the IT inservice we had to sign a statement to the effect that use of personal email for official correspondence was illegal. I’m sure the same records keeping rules applied to State.

    • #66
  7. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Kozak:

    minstry

    Hmm…

    That logo looks a little too much like the Hall of Justice for my tastes.  ;-)

    Hall of Justice

    • #67
  8. Ricochet Member
    Ricochet
    @GrannyDude

    Jules PA

    Jules PA

    Who cares about a “twit-spat.” Hillary in a blue dress is bigger news. :)

    jk

    This is off the point, and a lot more sexist-male than Misthiocracy was being, but it’s not just a blue dress… it’s a blue dress covered with things that look like tadpoles… or…um…

    (I know, I know. I’m supposed to be a good person.)

    • #68
  9. user_435274 Coolidge
    user_435274
    @JohnHanson

    I am a cynic, I think this whole tempest is happening now because HRC thought it would come out anyway, so have the discussion now, so when she becomes a candidate, the response is nothing new here, this is old news, so move on, already.  Have to give Moveon.org something to do.

    • #69
  10. MikeHs Inactive
    MikeHs
    @MikeHs

    Kate Braestrup:…it’s a blue dress covered with things that look like tadpoles… or…um…

    (I know, I know. I’m supposed to be a good person.)

    Looks more like a Chairman Mao jacket to me, albeit one with “things that look like tadpoles… or… um…” – yeah.  But that’s just me.

    • #70
  11. Ricochet Inactive
    Ricochet
    @PubliusMaximus

    In light of the news yesterday that American hero and former CIA Director (and terribly flawed human being, although compared to Slick and Swillary, he is still a saint) Gen David Petraus pled guilty to a misdemeanor for breaching secrecy laws, who thinks Queen Swillary will get the same treatment?  Not I for one–the criminalization of politics is upon us–problem is that the HypocRATS are the only  side that practices it!!  The beginning of the shift from soft tyranny to the real thing!!

    I heard Mark Levin yesterday call for non-payment of taxes in protest in the event King Obama unilaterally imposes new taxes–this is significant–Levin has long been against the use of succession and nullification, but his non-payment call is in effect a form of nullification.

    I personally think all patriotic conservatives have to start thinking about what happens if Swillary or an Obamite or a RINO are elected in 2016–if that happens, the only way to save what’s left of the Republic may well be succession, IMHO.

    We all need to reread the Declaration of Independence–http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

    When you read it, many will be shocked by the similarities between 1776 and the Kingdom of Obama in which we are subjected to today.

    • #71
  12. gts109 Inactive
    gts109
    @gts109

    To be a contrarian, you picked a fight on Twitter and found one. BFD.

    You can’t expect MSM reporters (is BuzzFeed MSM, btw? and, are its reporters “highly paid”?)–who are all reporting on a story that Hillary played games with emails, perhaps illegallly–to admit in writing that they take it easy on the Clintons because they’re in the tank for Hillary. I mean, of course, they’re in the tank for Hillary, but at this particular moment, I don’t think they really are, and crapping on them on Twitter is not likely to get you anywhere other than angry at life.

    I enjoyed your tweets though.

    • #72
  13. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Johnny Dubya:Claire, the whole ideas of family dynasties slugging it out behind the scenes is precisely what repulses me. Again: Are we a banana republic?

    I will keep asking the question as long as we have Bush and Clinton in the race.

    One of the central points of democracy is that no person should be denied an opportunity to lead because of an accident of birth. There are plenty of good reasons to oppose both Hillary and Jeb; we shouldn’t fixate on the superficial ones.

    • #73
  14. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Something I have not seen mentioned here is the reason that the government, corporations and others internalize their communication systems.  Mainly it is to secure the integrity of the messages.  Who gets access to them, how they get backed up, how long they are retained, etc.  Corporations go through a lot of time, trouble and expense for this.  I don’t have any personal knowledge of the Clinton’s network infrastructure but from I can see by spending about 15 minutes on the internet with the some diagnostic tools and HC email address.  It looks like at least some of their email structure is out sourced to a third party vendor (MX Logic, now part of McAfee).  From what I can tell every email sent and received went through MX Logic / McAfee’s infrastructure and the whole system may have been hosted there.  Such an arrangement works for small businesses but I doubt is up to DOD security requirements.

    • #74
  15. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Fake John Galt:Something I have not seen mentioned here is the reason that the government, corporations and others internalize their communication systems. Mainly it is to secure the integrity of the messages. Who gets access to them, how they get backed up, how long they are retained, etc. Corporations go through a lot of time, trouble and expense for this. I don’t have any personal knowledge of the Clinton’s network infrastructure but from I can see by spending about 15 minutes on the internet with the some diagnostic tools and HC email address. It looks like at least some of their email structure is out sourced to a third party vendor (MX Logic, now part of McAfee). From what I can tell every email sent and received went through MX Logic / McAfee’s infrastructure and the whole system may have been hosted there. Such an arrangement works for small businesses but I doubt is up to DOD security requirements.

    I’m sure that the Russian FSB, Iranian SAVAK and Cuban DRG were unable to hack the super duper cyber security of Hillary’s Kitchen Email Server…..

    • #75
  16. user_645 Member
    user_645
    @Claire

    gts109:To be a contrarian, you picked a fight on Twitter and found one. BFD.

    I’m not loving that acronym. I’m concerned that it might call to mind a vulgarity. It wouldn’t be one I know, of course. But I wonder if a better way to say that on Ricochet might be, “I am not persuaded that this is meaningful data.”

    Of course, I wouldn’t know, because I have no idea what that might stand for. Not ringing a bell. Perhaps it was, “Best to Stick with Facts and Data,” of which I’d fully approve. I assume you meant BSFD. That’s fine.

    • #76
  17. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Umbra Fractus: “One of the central points of democracy is that no person should be denied an opportunity to lead because of an accident of birth. There are plenty of good reasons to oppose both Hillary and Jeb; we shouldn’t fixate on the superficial ones.”

    How is Hillary’s position an accident of birth? It is actually more of – and forgive me for being crude and possibly breaching the CoC – a function of her husband having ejaculated on an intern. Voter sympathy for her in part led to her election to the Senate which made her a more viable candidate for president and Secretary of State.

    The Clintons explicitly marketed his presidency as “two for the price of one”. Having her serve as president violates the spirit of the 22nd Amendment. That is bad in and of itself, but when you add the prospect of a return to the White House of a chief executive who conducted himself in this manner – http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/1998/09/14/affair.state.html – well, it’s not a trivial matter at all. I would say it’s quite serious, because it’s an embarrassment to the republic.

    • #77
  18. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Johnny Dubya:Umbra Fractus: “One of the central points of democracy is that no person should be denied an opportunity to lead because of an accident of birth. There are plenty of good reasons to oppose both Hillary and Jeb; we shouldn’t fixate on the superficial ones.”

    How is Hillary’s position an accident of birth? It is actually more of – and forgive me for being crude and possibly breaching the CoC – a function of her husband having ejaculated on an intern. Voter sympathy for her in part led to her election to the Senate which made her a more viable candidate for president and Secretary of State.

    The Clintons explicitly marketed his presidency as “two for the price of one”.Having her serve as president violates the spirit of the 22nd Amendment. That is bad in and of itself, but when you add the prospect of a return to the White House of a chief executive who conducted himself in this manner – http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/1998/09/14/affair.state.html – well, it’s not a trivial matter at all. I would say it’s quite serious, because it’s an embarrassment to the republic.

    Everything you said here is 100% correct.

    But it’s not what was in your original post. My “accident of birth” comment referred mainly to Jeb and meant that  for good or ill every individual should be judged his/her own merits and not dismissed based on his/her last name. Now you’ve made a good case that the opposite is true, that Hillary would be nobody if not for her last name, but again, that’s not what you said in the post I responded to. You compared the prospect of any Bush vs. any Clinton to a banana republic, and that is superficial and undemocratic.

    • #78
  19. Johnny Dubya Inactive
    Johnny Dubya
    @JohnnyDubya

    Umbra Fractus:

    Johnny Dubya:Umbra Fractus: “One of the central points of democracy is that no person should be denied an opportunity to lead because of an accident of birth. There are plenty of good reasons to oppose both Hillary and Jeb; we shouldn’t fixate on the superficial ones.”

    How is Hillary’s position an accident of birth? It is actually more of – and forgive me for being crude and possibly breaching the CoC – a function of her husband having ejaculated on an intern. Voter sympathy for her in part led to her election to the Senate which made her a more viable candidate for president and Secretary of State.

    The Clintons explicitly marketed his presidency as “two for the price of one”.Having her serve as president violates the spirit of the 22nd Amendment. That is bad in and of itself, but when you add the prospect of a return to the White House of a chief executive who conducted himself in this manner – http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/1998/09/14/affair.state.html – well, it’s not a trivial matter at all. I would say it’s quite serious, because it’s an embarrassment to the republic.

    Everything you said here is 100% correct.

    But it’s not what was in your original post. My “accident of birth” comment referred mainly to Jeb and meant that for good or ill every individual should be judged his/her own merits and not dismissed based on his/her last name. Now you’ve made a good case that the opposite is true, that Hillary would be nobody if not for her last name, but again, that’s not what you said in the post I responded to. You compared the prospect of any Bush vs. any Clinton to a banana republic, and that is superficial and undemocratic.

    Having Hillary Clinton as a candidate or president is slightly more “banana-republic-y” than having Jeb Bush as a candidate or president, but not by much.  I stand by my opinion.  To me, having a parent-child dynasty is undemocratic, and even worse is a spouse-spouse dynasty because of the unique nature of the marital relationship and the fact that it returns a former president to the White House after his or her Constitutionally-allotted terms.

    In short, the Bush thing to me is distasteful and would be disastrous for the Republicans, but it should not be unconstitutional.  The Clinton thing should be unconstitutional.  In fact, as I have said before, it would be a clever strategic move for Republican leaders to propose a Constitutional amendment to prohibit a spouse from serving as president after his or her spouse, with the stipulation that the amendment would apply to presidential elections after 2020.  This would highlight the issue and might make more voters feel the way I do – that Hillary’s candidacy violates the spirit of the 22nd Amendment – and turn against her.

    • #79
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