Putting Democratic presumptive nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s email controversy back in the news, the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained a previously undisclosed email to Hillary’s close aid Huma Abedin. Hillary testified under oath before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), that she turned over all business emails before deleting some 33,000 off her private email server. “Let’s get the address or device but I don’t want any risk of the personal being accessible,” read the unreported email to Huma. Huma used Hillary’s private server, prompting the State Department Inspector General to condemn here actions May 25, 2016. Obtained from a lot of emails forwarded to the State Department in 2015 by Huma, it was not contained in the 55,000 emails provided by Clinton. What’s significant isn’t the content but the fact that Hillary insisted all business emails were handed over.
Hillary’s campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon dismissed the new email as insignificant. “Secretary Clinton had some emails with Huma did not have, and Huma had some emails with Secretary Clinton that Secretary Clinton did not have,” said Fallon, explaining the discrepancy. What Fallon couldn’t explain is why Hillary’s computer expert that set up her server took the Fifth under oath with Gowdy’s Committee and recently under deposition from Judicial Watch. “Contrary to her statement under oath suggesting otherwise, Mrs. Clinton did not return all her emails to the State Department,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Pagliano refused to answer simple questions regarding when he was first contacted and agreed to set up Hillary’s personal server. “Our goal is to find out what other emails Mrs. Clinton and the State Department are hiding,” said Fitton, raising more questions of truthfulness that currently dog Hillary’s presidential campaign.
Refusing to answer any questions regarding Hillay’s private server, Pagliano stonewalled because the information doesn’t look favorable. Pagliano knows that Hillary’s currently under an FBI investigation to determine whether her email transmission violated the U.S. Espionage Act or any other government laws related to classified or Top Secret information. Hillary insisted under oath that she never knowing received or sent any emails marked as classified or Top Secret. Reporting May 25, the IG’s report found several occasions where classified or Top Secret emails were received or sent. Speaking in Manhattan yesterday, GOP presumptive nominee and real estate magnate Donald Trump called Hillary “a world class liar,” referring not only to emails but how she enriched herself while serving as secretary of state. Regardless of her partisan backing, Hillary’s got credibility problems with voters, admitting she’s got to do better explaining herself.
Mainstream media outlets have given up on probing Clinton’s emails controversy waiting for the FBI to act. With FBI Director James Comey dragging his feet, responding to recent criticism in the June 12 Orlando terrorist massacre, emails aren’t on the list Comey admitted that the FBI interviewed 29-year-old mass killer Omar Mateen twice in 2014 and 2015, before “clearing” him of terrorism. If Comey thinks the FBI needs more time for Hillary, he should urge Congress to appoint a Special Prosecutor to examine whether Hillary broke U.S. laws espionage laws. It’s become clear that Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch has no intent to file charges against Hillary. Hillary had no problem with U.S. officials threatening former CIA Director David Petraeus for sharing classified material with his personal biographers and lover Paula Broadwell. Petraeus was forced to resign in disgrace Nov. 9, 2012 only two months before Hillary left the State Department.
Watching Hillary’s paid computer tech Brian Pagliano take the Fifth on numerous occasions in Gowdy’s Committee and in a Judicial Watch deposition doesn’t look good for Hillary. Whether or not a biased media cares is anyone’s guess. What’s become abundantly clear is that Hillary moves the goal posts whenever she’s questioned about her emails. Gowdy’s Select Committee spent too much time looking for a smoking gun when it came to the Sept. 11, 2012 Benghazi, Libya terrorist attack. Had Gowdy focused more the deleted emails or Pagliano taking the Fifth, it would have invited the mainstream media to take a more serious look at Hillary’s credibility. Blaming a lack of security in Benghazi on a Cabinet secretary didn’t sit well with ordinary voters. Once Gowdy knew he would get nothing from Hillary, he should have requested a Special Prosecutor to finally get to the bottom of whether or not charges should be filed.
Hillary’s email issues continue to raise more questions about her truthfulness about handling government or private emails. Whatever she deleted before handing her electronic communications over to the State Department, she’s got a growing credibility problem. During an Election Year, it’s difficult to ferret out politics from what really happened. If President Barack Obama didn’t have a dog in the fight, he’d notify Atty. Gen. Lynch to appoint a Special Prosecutor, removing the matter from politics. Whatever happens now, Hillary cries right wing conspiracy, the same excuse she gave when her husband, Bill, was accused of having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. House Select Committee Chairman Gowdy has done the public a disservice consumed by the Benghazi fiasco. Instead of beating a dead horse, Gowdy should wrap up his work, asking for a Special prosecutor to get to the bottom of whether Hillary violated U.S. espionage laws.
About the Author