The federal prosecutor in this case, Dana J. Boente is a 32 year veteran of the Justice Department. He originally was hired at DOJ during the Reagan Administration, in 1984.
In his opinion, Chief Justice Roberts said: “There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute” .
“A more limited interpretation of the term ‘official act’ leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this Court.”
For once, Chief Justice Roberts got it right. I look forward to reading his full opinion.
Meanwhile, you’d think a 32-year career prosecutor would show a little restraint. In my days covering the courts, I met a few prosecutors who literally felt they were “god” (with a large “G”) and could find crime and corruption under any rock. Some of them also had political grudges, or they were upset because they hadn’t advanced further in their career. To be fair, I don’t know Mr. Boente and can only speculate about his motivations. But a unanimous reversal by the SCOTUS is hardly a highlight of his career.
This much I know: DOJ has always been political, but never like it has under Obama. I guess a lot of career prosecutors (and other officials) sensed which way the wind was blowing and decided to bend that way and maintain their positions in the bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, you’ve got obvious violations of multiple federal statutes with Hillary’s e-mail scandal, and mark my words, Loretta Lynch will go through amazing legal contortions to avoid an indictment.
In fact, one of he more original “conspiracy theories” on the subject goes something like this: at some point, there will be rumblings about James Comey’s handling of the Orlando investigation and the FBI’s failure to identify Omar Mateen as a terrorist (never mind that it was Obama’s mandated political correctness that prevented the bureau from pursuing an investigation). There will be rumblings about Comey not doing his job, which will be picked up by the Dims on Capitol Hill.
At that point, Barry will lose confidence in the FBI director and dismiss him. There will be a huge furor and a number of agents and supervisory personnel will resign, but that won’t be a concern for Obama. Instead, the decision about recommending an indictment will be left to an acting director, someone elevated from the ranks of the career deputy directors, who may be less willing to take on the White House. The need for the appointee to fully review the evidence will create an additional delay, pushing any FBI recommendation past the election. If Hillary wins, the game’s over. If Trump wins, Obama pardons Clinton on his way out the door.