Game Changer?

A Bill Clinton appointed federal judge ruled that State Department officials and top aides to Hillary Clinton should be questioned under oath about whether they intentionally thwarted federal open records laws by using or allowing the use of a private email server throughout Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.

“How on earth can the court conclude there is not at minimum a reasonable suspicion of bad faith,” Judge Sullivan said.

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Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.

70 thoughts on “Game Changer?”

  1. Sure lets waste a whole lot of time, money, and energy for the prurient entertainment of a well known right wing witch hunt organization.  Why not?  It’s totally in line with the current state of the Republican Party having totally abdicated their oaths of public service for the sake of letting loose the dogs of war on the President and Senator Clinton.

  2. SSDD

    Yet reporters have no problem writing about it with a straight face and call themselves investigative reporters. lol

    How many times has this happened in the last 20 years and yet this time is different, lol yeah , right.

     

    Jack

  3. Game changer? Probably not. The Hillary haters have been in the bag for a good twenty years. The undecided are just that, undecided. Emails or the lack thereof are not going to have any impact on this election. Nor will Benghazi. she need only say two words “60 Minutes”. End of story

    I don’t know if HRC can win, but I would rather be in her shoes than the shoes of any other candidate running.

  4. Are we at the end of the Roman Republic. Some how it feels like it. So when does Julius Caesar walk on the stage?

     

    Jack

  5. Agreed, but I do not look forward to another Clinton administration that focuses on nothing but them and never on the needs of working people

  6. Craig,

     

    I don’t look forward to another Clinton administration.  but an administration led by any current Republican candidate is to frightening to consider. I have never thought for a minute that HRC’s positions were identical to Bill’s. They are far too different in background and upbringing. I would not expect a 2nd Clinton administration to mirror the first. God , but I would love to be a fly on the wall when Bill and Hillary talk policy and positions.

  7. I fear for a nation that can even consider the possibility of a President Trump.  That bullying, boorish, egotistical spouter of fear and hatred is the living example of all that is the dark side of the US.  You watch the thousands cheer and realize just how a Nazi Germany could happen.  A people so demoralized and economically threatened that they will follow someone who tells them they will come into their deserved greatness as he leads them into the ugliest of actions.

    OSH, Hillary was amazing.  Bernie looked much better than usual, but basically softball questions that led make to the same generalized solution.  She was giving fully cited lectures of facts, figures, and details to virtually every question.   Whether you agree with her or not, you cannot deny her brilliance, commitment, and ability to immediately assume office.

     

  8. The issue of the classified contents of emails is bogus.  In my previous life I lived and worked in the black world.  If I wrote something in one location it would not be classified, but if I went through a door  and wrote the same thing it would be highly classified.

    The writing that was not classified could be sent all over in many formats, email it, photograph it, hand it to friends and family.  But the classified version, could only be moved outside the door by courier, it could not be copied or read by anyone not with the proper levels of clearances.

    Such is the world of classification.  A dichotomy.  But necessary.  Those who needed the information were only given certain information to do their job.  In the white world the information was not connected to the black world, so the information written on the page was not combined with other information which could allow those reading it with the whole story.  Classifying the material would prevent its use by the people who needed it to perform a job.  And, letting people know that what they had was part of a highly classified program would not be good.

    In the black world, even though the similar restrictions on full knowledge were in place, the program was known in some form, so any piece could be placed. Also, because it was in the program anything associated with it was classified and contained so the program itself was not known, outside of a select few.

    I am sure State emails would be even worse to handle.  But, as you can see.  Something can be classified and not classified depending on location and use.  Right now there are competing Departments and not just a single office saying what is classified and what is not classified.  Along with issues such as it was not classified when sent, but five years later it became classified.

    As for using her own server, that is dumb.

  9. from nbc march 5 2015 …yeah that’s 2015 a year ago:

    Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday night that she has asked the State Department to release all of her emails from her four years as secretary of state as the disclosure that she used a private email address for official government business shadowed her potential presidential campaign.

    “I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible,” Clinton told almost 3 million followers on her verified Twitter account at 11:35 p.m. ET.
    Wednesday’s tweet was the first time Clinton personally commented on the controversy in public.
    State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the department would review the emails “as quickly as possible,” but said the process could take a while.

    “The State Department will review for public release the emails provided by Secretary Clinton to the department, using a normal process that guides such releases,” Harf said in a statement. “Given the sheer volume of the document set, this review will take some time to complete.”

     

    so what more can she do?  the ball is in the administration’s court. they are responsible for dragging this out.   she is in slow motion stretching the whole election season being blamed when the prez (or even Kerry) could acknowledge use by sos -and other security types- of off the grid servers was and is sop and with prez ok.    jack is right: “How many times has this happened in the last 20 years and yet this time is different, lol yeah , right”

  10. Jamie- that is one great comment.  It should be a post- if not here someplace like on huffington post.  Please consider this, it needs to be read , before the insanity gets totally beyond the point. of no return

    I caught bits, need to download something to be able to watch in its entirety.  Anyways, I didn’t think much either way about Sanders as person.  I can say with no reserve thatI don’t like him at all.  He is missing some qualities that I admire such as loyalty and has the unpleasant traits of entitlement, egomania and supreme selfishness.  And according to him paid speeches are illegal.  I sure wish I could get free guest speakers at my Midsummer Faerie Festival.  I also have had enough of story hour at the library, explaining to the kiddies about 2008  Anyways, he is aptly named.

  11. I see the Clintons have reached the suburbs.  I guess we would rather look at a Prez Trump who would be suing and starting wars during his admin.  And if you think HRC can’t handle it?  Look at her eleven hours before the Gowdy’s greasy skull face.  Keep kicking the old lady’s ass.  I must say, she is getting to be a better campaigner than her hubby.

    I remember in 2008 when everyone was calling for HRC to drop-out of the race by now.

    I hope the dems unite as the number of caucus numbers for the repugs in Nevada?  Huge compared to the dems.   We will be looking at Prez Trump as it seems, once again, the dems are holding the knife over their big noses…waiting to slice.   Let us hope that Bern can get his bros in line.

    The repugs…running every flavor of tea and nothing else on their menu!

     

     

  12. Hubby assures me that country that elected Obama twice, would not be silly enough to elect Trump.  I am not so sure as the Nevada victory for Trump?  Bodes well for him as he translates his message to the Western states.   What the pundits are forgetting is that Ronald Reagan was a western president and if Trump can garner that vote?  He will get the nomination.  Teavangelicals like the fact that he doesn’t smoke or drink…they can forgive the carnal and the cussing.  Rubio and Cruz are Cuban-Americans…not Mexican-Americans.  They are not as Hispanic-exciting as they believe. Trump owns hotels and deals with the unions on a daily basis.  He sounds and talks like mafia…everything has the Goodfellas appeal.  It makes great sense that he should get close to 50% in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  13. BW-“I remember in 2008 when everyone was calling for HRC to drop-out of the race by now.”  Was thinking the same thing this morning.  I haven’t heard anything of the sort from the media.  I did hear one voter say that he should step aside soon. Hah! Not likely with his ego. He can’t even give a concession speech.

  14. Jace – Re: The Clintons

    After awhile, married folks start to look the same.

    By the way, I do not “hate” Hillary.  I just don’t think she has talent as an executive.   I sincerely hope that I am very wrong.

  15. Even though she endorsed Rubio, I think Trump would choose Nikki Hayley (if she would agree to it).

    Many mainstream Repugs may not want to be on Trump’s ticket.  IDK.

    Here’s a fun thought: Trump will brainwash Julian’s twin, Juan Castro, and he will be veep.   Both Castro twins in the race.  ?

    How would Hillary put Castro on the ticket if she was up against Rubio?  She couldn’t bring up Rubio’s shallow experience (compared to hers) with a young one as her veep.  I still think Clinton/Castro v Trump/Hayley

     

  16. After awhile, married folks start to look the same.

    Or Blue

    It could be that the wife is always a reflection of her husband in some people’s eyes? Oh and that would make them sexist…..

    I love President Clinton but i in no way assume Hillary will be a carbon copy of her husband as President.. Times are way different than the 90’s.. Trump and the Republicans would love to take us back to the 50’s.. If you cast a vote for Trump/Haley good luck to you. Oh and wish gay people like me luck, woman (Roe vs Wade)  as well. We will need it as are rights are stolen from a Supreme Court stacked with right wingers like Cruz..

  17. “In June 2015, Donald Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he wanted Oprah Winfrey as his running mate” — Politico

  18. Envisioning Trump as POTUS is void of any sort of fun.  He is the muggle equivalent of a  dementor.

  19. Jack….   your 10:48 from last night…   exactly!  Rick and I were talking last night during dinner about how everyone likes to compare Trump to Hitler when the real comparison should be Julius Caesar.

    Oh yeah…  more shit Hillary has done wrong…   blah, blah, blah…

  20. jace, I agree with your “They are far too different in background and upbringing. I would not expect a 2nd Clinton administration to mirror the first.”  nor do I expect a continuation of Obama’s (and some there who used to be bill Clinton’s) wh appointees, staff and advisors in her administration.  only exception being loretta lynch and maybe Kerry.  wouldn’t be surprised to see her bring in repubs like colin powell, gates, huntsman… you know the sane gopers.

     

    blueid, I disagree with your “don’t think she has talent as an executive” …  state dept is a pretty big, complex place with about 70,000 employees (13,000 in far flung field offices) and an annual budget of about $70 billion. per wiki: “The Secretary of State is the chief executive officer of the Department of State and a member of the Cabinet that answers directly to the President of the United States. The secretary organizes and supervises the entire department and its staff.”  she ran it for 4 years.  her stints as a senator and as a 1st lady (to say nothing of being a successful lawyer) required a certain amount of executive ability.

    fyi, also according to wiki, the Donald owns and runs the trump org llc which has 22,450 employees.

  21. Jamie, so let them throw godwin’s law at you…. the pics you picked for your blog were exactly the ones that came to my mind over the last few days.   so at the risk omgl jeers here’s that anthem again…. with all it’s eerie spine-tingling scariness

  22. thank you jamie, tweeted and posted-even on my personal fb page where i don’t post politics.

  23. from Why should You and I have to keep paying Mitch McConnell’s Salary

    And now a straightforward constitutional duty has been handed to McConnell: Gear up the Senate’s “Advise and Consent” mechanism to approve or reject President Obama’s nominee to replace Justice Scalia. We’ll do it tomorrow, muttered the somnolent senator, content to put off his responsibility to our nation’s system of justice until next year, long after Obama is gone.

    We’re paying this guy a salary of $174,000 a year, plus another $19,400 for his “service” as majority leader. It’s insulting that he won’t even go through the motions of doing his job. Of course, saying no to all the chores he ought to be doing for the people is exactly what the corporate sponsors of his Republican Party expect from him. They want an inert and unresponsive government, a poverty-wage economy, a plutocratic election system and a court of their own choosing. So “Do Nothing” Mitch is their boy. But at the very least, shouldn’t they pay his salary, rather than sticking us with the cost?

  24. It is obvious the geographical heart of the GOP party has been ripped from Florida.  Hang this chad, Florida!  Bush is toast and no one cares about Cuba beyond vacationing there.  Now, where will the real estate mogul build the next center?  For me, it is like watching a giant ant hill destroyed.

     

  25. It makes sense that Trump would win the Nevada Hispanic vote as he predicted…he is El Jefe.  A leader to the blue collar and service worker whom he pays union scale.

    I just love the irony…Woodie Guthrie writes a song about Fred Trump’s miserable slum, Brookhaven and the “rent is too damn high’ party founder?  He is endorsing Trump.

  26. In retrospect, it is too bad HRC did not do all of her SOS business exclusively on an Iphone.

  27. When not concentrating on Donald Trump, I do look at his followers.  That is when an old science fiction story comes to mind and it might be even more applicable than Hitler:  The Marching Morons

    It is even scarier when you note that when written five billion people on the planet was considered inconceivable.

  28. Pogo,

    How do we go about getting a subpoena to have the Majority Leader’s office sniffed for any trace of smuggled, tax-evaded, corn likker?

  29. I did watch CNN’s Democratic town hall last night.  Bernie was good but basically repeated his same old schtick.  The questions and answers for and from Hillary are much more diverse.   Listening to Bernie one might think the US was into isolationism.  It’s as if he doesn’t get that the economy is global.  They didn’t even bother to ask him foreign policy questions.  Hillary’s first question was a foreign policy one.

    BTW…  Hillary looks fabulous in blue… it makes her eyes sparkle… she should wear that color more often.

  30. flatus, let’s also ask pogo to research who can sue mitch and the other non-feasors for their intentional failure to perform a required duty and obligation in violation of the constitution.

  31. any media noticing that more Nevada gopers went for non-donalds than for the Donald?  he got 34,531 for and 40,347 against him.

  32. LOL, Flatus.  Corn likker.  I suspect Myrtle drinks Gentleman Jack  or Maker’s Mark.

    Question about standing to sue congress for failure to do its constitutionally mandated work?  Good question.  Standing requires the plaintiff being able to demonstrate harm from the act or omission or harm to a group that can’t or is unlikely to speak for themselves, causation and redress (a court ruling would address the harm).  Wiki has a good general explanation.  Under the Lujan case the first element is a tough one.

  33. patd,  IMHO the NV results showed that 2 & 3 got about the same votes as 1, and the votes from Bush went largely to 1.  With Rube running 3rd in both TX & FL, I think his goose is cooked.  If he drops after FL, I expect 1 will pick up enough of his votes to crest 50%.  Of course, I’ve never won the lottery.

  34. Patd

    The media has noted it while mentioning the important fact that until all those ABT voters all decide on one person, he continues to run away with elections.

    Of course, it doesn’t help that all the others are pretty useless and not nearly as attractive to eyeballs, ratings, and commercial dollars.

     

  35. harry endorses hillary

    from cnn: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid announced Wednesday in an exclusive interview with CNN that he is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, a sign that Democratic leaders are eager to put the party’s contentious primary fight behind them.
    The Nevada Democrat issued a plea for his party to consolidate behind Clinton, who has struggled to fend off an insurgent campaign from Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont.
    “I think the middle class would be better served by Hillary,” Reid said.
    “I think that my work with her over the years has been something that I have looked upon with awe. She was the first lady. She started the trend toward looking to do something about health care. She understood the issue well, she was the front on the health care during that administration,” he said.

  36. I think Harry’s endorsement was inevitable.  Bernie’s campaign is still alive, and he may have the money to soldier on to the convention, but we’ll have a good idea in the next two weeks whether that will be of any benefit to him or the party.

  37. There’s something about this weather warning that leaves me perplexed. If the thunderstorm is moving at 70-mph, why are we to expect wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph?

    “…AT 235 PM EST…A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS 9 MILES NORTHWEST OF BISHOPVILLE…MOVING NORTHEAST AT 70 MPH. WIND GUSTS OF 45 TO 55 MPH AND DIME SIZE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM…”

    We are quite a distance from this storm–thankfully.

  38. from huffpo Why is Brian Sandoval Being Floated as a Scalia Replacement?:

    So, what’s going on? There are a few possibilities.

    Obama really thinks Sandoval is a great nominee and genuinely wants to see this happen.
    Obama doesn’t think Sandoval is that great, but he does believe filling the Supreme Court as quickly as possible is more important than securing a liberal legacy, and he figures Sandoval would at least be acceptable.
    Obama is basically trolling the GOP, hoping they react in a way that makes them look idiotic.

    And the answer is behind door number three.

     

  39. long article and sad in its conclusion…

    from How America Became the Love Child of Kim Kardasian and Donal Trump :

    Kardashian and Trump appear to represent a kind of capitalist abundance and freedom. What they really signify, however, is the imprisonment of the self and a future of further restricted possibilities.

    When our connections to each other fall away and our self-absorption intensifies, Americans’ chances to act collectively to redefine the terms of our lives diminishes. Trump’s loud talk of building walls and roughing up those who get in the way is really the whisper of an authoritarian future where the freedom and abundance are reserved for elites who will protect their privileges at any cost.

    The real wall will be around us — to keep us in our place. And we will have helped build our new reality.

  40. How do Republicans deal with Sandoval if he’s nominated?

    Will Latino voters fell disrespected and vote Democrat or not vote at all?

    If Democrat is elected President & carry the senate he likely would be replaced with a more left of center nominee and the reverse would be true if a Republican is elected.

    Both parties will make the vacancy the focus of the campaign.  Sandoval can be viewed as a “bird in the hand” for both sides.  A compromise that allows the election campaign to focus on other issues.

    Either way the circus will continue.

  41. Flatus. we had one of the storm lines blow through here this afternoon.  Same deal – very fast moving storm, and as we used to say when I worked on the boats, it was blowing stink out there for a while.  Not sure how a storm moving at 70 mph doesn’t produce 70 mph winds at least at the frontal boundary, but then again, I’m a lawyer not a meteorologist.

  42. Sandoval scares me a bit.  He’s a Republican centrist, whatever that means, and is a mixed bag of positions – strikes me as socially moderate but not supportive of workers’ rights. But he raised taxes to fund education and has done several other things that got him dubbed a party pooper (Repub party I think) by Politico. I doubt that he’d get a vote by Myrtle and ‘assley so it prolly won’t matter anyway.

  43. Having Donald Trump as a major part candidate officially makes a third world country with people running for tin pot dictator

  44. I doubt Sandoval gets a vote too but putting him forward puts GOP in the hot seat with little upside.

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