I really don’t see how they can ignore or excuse this volume of classified material (even at the most top secret level) being purposely mishandled. But, of course, we’re dealing with Democrats. They are experts at evading responsibility.
There are two possible options. This is a head fake, big buildup of anticipation so that when it all turns out to be “nothing” it can be played off as anticlimatic.
Or it’s preparatory signalling that the Federal law enforcement and intel communities aren’t going to let it go.
My inclination, given the material already made public by the IG and FOIA releases is to think it the latter. The only difference here with Snowden is that Snowden was 100% intentional and premeditated while this was more deliberate negligence.
Of course the short answer is that they are Democrats for which the truth and national security doesn't matter much to them.
There was an article the other day in the Washington Post about how they only charged General Patreus with a misdemeanor. I read it as the WP instructing the Justice Department to do the same with Mrs. Clinton, regardless of the fact that what she did is 1000s of time worse because we have to assume that the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, probably the North Koreans (not to mention the British, French, and Israelis) read every single one of those emails.