Hillary's Watergate Looms: Washington insider predicts indictment over email scandal

PJ Media ^ | 01/07/2016 | Roger L. Simon

[SeekAndFind]

Of all the welter of predictions for 2016, by far the most dramatic seems to have been given short shrift or swept under the rug -- the possible indictment of Hillary Rodham Clinton while running for the presidency. Were such an event to occur, it would dominate our culture as nothing since Watergate. Yet most of us put it in the back of our minds, thinking it could never happen and focusing on the latest back and forth with Trump.

Nevertheless, as pointed out on PJM by Debra Heine, it very much could happen. Heine cited Laura Ingraham's Tuesday radio interview with former U. S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Joe DiGenova, some of which went as follows in verbatim transcription (you can listen to the full interview here):

DiGenova: Hillary Clinton's going to have problems because of what's in the emails, but also the classifications. Her biggest problem right now is the FBI. They're not going away. They have reached a critical mass in their investigation of the Secretary and all of her senior staff. And, it's going to come to a head, I would suggest, in the next sixty days. And, I predict Hillary will not make it to the finish line. She's not going to be able to complete her campaign. The criminal investigation must focus on her and all the people around her. And, if Jim Comey, the FBI director, is doing his job, which I expect him to do as an honorable man, she cannot be the nominee of the Democratic Party. She's going to have to be charged with the crime. It's going to be a very complex matter for the Department of Justice, but they're not going to be able to walk away from it. She and her staff have committed numerous federal crimes involving the negligent and improper handling of classified information. They are now at over 1,200 classified emails. And, that's just for the ones we know about from the State Department. That does not include the ones that the FBI is, in fact, recovering from her hard drives. (1:08)

[snip]

Ingraham: Do you have confidence that Loretta Lynch, from what we saw with her handling of the Baltimore riots and all that, is going to okay, green light an indictment of Hillary Clinton in an election year? (3:21)

DiGenova: I believe that the evidence that the FBI is compiling will be so compelling that, unless she agrees to the charges, there will be a massive revolt inside the FBI, which she will not be able to survive as an Attorney General. It will be like Watergate. It will be unbelievable.

I know DiGenova slightly and he is an extremely smart guy, but he's also a dyed-in-the-wool Republican who would like nothing more than to see Hillary fall. On the other hand, he's a longtime Beltway player with a lot of friends at the top levels of law enforcement. I wouldn't for a minute dismiss what he is saying, nor, I'm sure are people at the upper echelons of the Democratic Party. It's not for no reason the Daily Mail is suddenly reporting "Candid Joe Biden says he 'regrets' his decision not to run for president 'every day' as he admits to having second thoughts." Maybe he knows something.

Whatever the case, as the unthinkable becomes thinkable, several possible scenarios emerge, all with mind-boggling ramifications: 1. We learn the FBI recommends an indictment and Lynch goes forward. (What next? Trump versus Sanders? A brokered convention turns to Biden? Whoever is chosen the Democratic Party would be deeply wounded.) 2. Lynch does not go forward but word leaks out the FBI had recommended that she do. (A recipe for civil war -- or something close). 3. The FBI doesn't recommend but whistle blowers come out to say they should have. (Chaos with FBI Director Comey under attack.) 4. Nothing happens -- what Obama would call "transparency" but the rest of us might call stonewalling.

I was leaning to 4, but now something (respect for Comey? DiGenova's knowledge?) tells me it's 1 or 2, both of which mean buckle up and bucket up (on popcorn). If it's 1, Lynch will have done us all a favor. If it's 2, there will be blood on the tracks all over Washington and our television sets may explode, as Lynch goes down in infamy, but we the people (probably) come out okay. In either case, 1 or 2, we will be watching one of the greatest public exercises of karma in modern times.

One other development might be making it especially bad for Hillary. North Korea is back in the news with their recent explosion of a quondam H-bomb, reminding us that the insane NORKs are still there and also reminding us (and the FBI, we can assume) that top-secret satellite maps of North Korea appeared unauthorized on the Clinton's personal email server. That would put the average citizen in jail in a heartbeat.

 

[GOPJ]

See #39

[thesharkboy]

Huma, Mills, and perhaps a few others, including the IT guy who took the Fifth, will be indicted for removing classified markings and mishandling classified information. These offenses will be trumped up to the benefit of Hillary, whose “mistakes” will pale in comparison. No recommendation for indictment, let alone an actual indictment for Hillary will come out of this. The indictments against the others will lead to nothing, or maybe minor convictions with minimal or no prison time.

[tanknetter]

It’s more of a nightmare scenario for the Dems than that.

Hillary trading a pardon for dropping out of the race is as big of a quid pro quo as they come. Especially if the Super Delegates then jump to the sitting Vice President. It’ll be next to impossible to stomp down the accusations of payoffs, bribery and corruption. Which will have enormous traction.

Best scenario is for an under the table deal, nothing put into writing, that has Obama waiting to pardon Hillary on the morning of Jan 20, 2017.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Well Joe’s comment yesterday was interesting. But putting money on the Dem Attorny General indicting Killary is a long shot.

[GOPJ]

I'm not saying Joe is ‘low energy’ or anything but Jeb keeps challenging him to a walk in the park... any park.. Jeb says he can win that one.

Joe can't get the Bernie vote and blacks have been primed for 'Bill's wife'... If dems double cross their voters they'll give the Presidency to Trump. Same with the GOPe - if they double cross us whatever democrat is running will win.

[tanknetter]

Thanks!

To which I’ll add that if theres an appearance of a quid pro quo by Biden jumping in, Bernies hard core supporters are going to be PISSED.

Does Bernie, denied the nomination, go third party and we have a repeat (on steroids) of Nader in 2000? If Bernie just go home (quietly or not) and his supporters follow his lead?

Again, if this does all pan out (no way I’m calculating the odds on it, either!) it’s a far, far reaching nightmare for the Dems.

[GOPJ]

Won’t work.

[tanknetter]

It’s a roll of the dice. If Comey resigns and/or the career Federal law enforcement and intelligence communities go to war against the administration and Hillary, what happens?

And what happens if Lynch wakes up one morning wondering why Eric Holder was so eager to gtfo, and the Obama Admin had to reach deep down into it’s bench for a replacement (her)?

[monocle]

Another consideration is timing. Any action after February 29th will bring charges that the FBI is playing politics and assuring Democrat losses.

[Cuttnhorse]

I like the way you think!

[Lee'sGhost]

Hmmm..... I’d prefer she go to the prison infirmary.

[JustSurrounded]

So, what I don't understand is what the Democrats find so objectionable about Martin O’Malley. He's still in the race and, yet, is never mentioned. I mean, as a conservative Marylander, I know why *I* don't like him, but why don't the Democrats?

[thesharkboy]

If Comey resigns and/or the career Federal law enforcement and intelligence communities go to war against the administration and Hillary

Career Federal FBI and IC people are not going to put their careers and pensions on the line for this. Comey might resign, but I doubt it. In today's environment, these people are beholden to the current administration, whoever that might be.

[eartrumpet]

She has 900 25 year old FBI files at her disposal. They have every FBI file at theirs.

[GOPJ]

Bernie’s Donald Trump in sheep’s clothing. I would not underestimate him.

[JimRed]

Who is tasked with securing her passport so she can’t run off to Cuba or some other Marxist hellhole?

[JimRed]

Oh, never mind the passport; she can just walk across the Mexican border.

[A CA Guy]

They would have a hard time getting past Sanders people if Hillary dropped out and he won their contest.

[A CA Guy]

So without pulling some major bull no Joe.

They need to first get Sanders the ticket, get him heart attacked with his age then bring in Uncle Joe, right?

[kagnew]

“She savaged Nixon for lesser/fewer offenses and expects a much larger number of similar (worse) transgressions to be overlooked on herself.”

Also, good old Hillary didn’t even want Nixon to have ANY LEGAL COUNSEL, and not to mention the fact that Hillary was kicked off the Watergate committee for lying.