back to article FBI won't jail future US president over private email server

The FBI has said it will not recommend nor push for any charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of state. At a press conference Tuesday morning, FBI director James Comey gave a lengthy description of the investigation his staff had carried out, focused on whether Clinton has …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Female Privilege

    Think Bernie or Trump would have got off so easy?

    1. Jim 43

      Re: Female Privilege

      Gender has nothing to do with it, political party has nothing to do with it.

      20+ years of political favors and debts is all that matters here.

      1. Antron Argaiv Silver badge

        Re: Female Privilege

        Nothing to see here...just politics as usual.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Female Privilege

        I held a security clearance. If any of my co-workers did what she did, we'd be in jail faster than a Clinton could break a campaign promise.

      3. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Old Handle

      Wrong type of privilege

      It's just a matter of whether the powers that be like you or not. If you're in the good books, you can (quite literally) get away with murder. If they don't like you, woe betide you should you make the slightest misstep.

      Edit: I agree with Jim, in other words.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Holmes

        Re: Wrong type of privilege

        A LAW FOR US, A LAW FOR THEM!

        AND NEVER THE TWO SHALL MEET!

        Yeah, where has the "vast right-wing conspiracy" to do the the Clintons in (as imagined by the Clintons) gone? Well. it has merged with the Clintons into a new, more powerful conspiracy! OM NOM NOM!!

        1. Mark 65

          Re: Wrong type of privilege

          I've seen others use the term "Just Us" Department for the DoJ, as in "this rule applies to just us and not you"

        2. BillG
          WTF?

          Re: Wrong type of privilege

          Take a look at the CNN and MSNBC websites and see how deeply they buried this story.

      2. Eddy Ito

        Re: Wrong type of privilege

        I'm going to have to side with Jim also. After Bill's meeting with AG Lynch and Hillary's Saturday meeting with top FBI brass "interview" with the FBI this should be plain, simple, and understandable by anyone. There's a reason they decided to call Saturday's meeting an interview and that because the FBI director was interviewing for a much better position, perhaps head of DHS, DOD, Secretary of State or even a Judgeship. Mark my words Directory Comey is going places in this world and if he isn't, there are still even odds that he'll eat his own bullet in Fort Marcy Park.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Wrong type of privilege

        Liking you is relevant, but not the key.

        Being well liked greases the wheels but the thing that propels them is the expectation of mutual backscratching. Any politician has a long list of people who have invested time, money and favours in their candidacy and expect a return. The backlash against anyone who derails that candidacy will be significant and needs more political cover than this.

        Clinton does seem well liked by her supporters (and unusually hated by her opponents), but Richard Nixon wasn't really liked by anyone and he still made things work by playing politics exceptionally well (until he played his hand too hard and could be dethroned).

        I think the politics here are made easier by the fact that noone in the establishment wants Trump to win (he's a loose cannon but, more importantly, he doesn't owe any powerful people any favours).

        That makes a decision which in isolation looks absurd to me (what legitimate reason would a Secretary of State have to use her own email server?) very easy to understand in the context of politics.

        1. wayward4now
          Childcatcher

          Re: Wrong type of privilege

          "what legitimate reason would a Secretary of State have to use her own email server?"

          Simple, if it is YOUR server what is on it is yours as well. Plenty of fodder for multi-million dollar books, blackmail, and just plain power. Simple.

          1. MachDiamond Silver badge

            Re: Wrong type of privilege

            *"Simple, if it is YOUR server what is on it is yours as well. Plenty of fodder for multi-million dollar books, blackmail, and just plain power. Simple.*"

            In the case of a senior US government official, ALL work related communications are property of the government.

            The "intent" argument that Comey put forward can be dismissed by several recent cases where the defendants were found guilty and given long term prison sentences. In some of those cases, there was no intent found and the information had not leaked. In the case of Hillary, there was intent to hide those communications from government oversight and it appears there were serious leaks of highly sensitive communications related to her job. Her continuous lying about every aspect is slightly suspicious.

    3. Ralph B

      Re: Female Privilege

      Here's a question: If both candidates were to be indicted for any reason would the primaries have to be re-run?

      1. Ugotta B. Kiddingme

        @Ralph B: "If both candidates were to be indicted..."

        Ralph B: The short answer is "probably not."

        The longer answer: In my native Louisiana, politics is our second most popular spectator sport (topped ONLY by "American rules" football). One of our most "colorful" politicians and longest serving governor (four non-consecutive terms) Edwin Edwards was well known for his total disregard of the law. He was corrupt as the day is long BUT fiercely loyal to his state and his backers. He is the embodiment of the old saw "an honest politician is one who STAYS bought." In Louisiana, he has always been enormously (and inexplicably) popular. Many people would proudly proclaim "Yeah, he's a crook, but he's OUR crook!"

        The FBI and Department of Justice tried to prosecute Edwards on many occasions for many violations. After several failed attempts, they FINALLY got him and sent him away for (IIRC) eleven years. After his release from Federal penitentiary, there were people who very seriously attempted to get him to run for office again. It was at that point we learned that a felony conviction did NOT disqualify one from seeking or holding office at the Federal level. State, yes. Federal, no. I weep for my country...

        1. Trigonoceps occipitalis

          Re: @Ralph B: "If both candidates were to be indicted..."

          "State, yes. Federal, no."

          I believe that the US Constitution is hot on "States' Rights", so I guess that in other states a convicted felon could hold office?

          1. Ugotta B. Kiddingme

            Re: @Ralph B: "If both candidates were to be indicted..."

            "I believe that the US Constitution is hot on "States' Rights", so I guess that in other states a convicted felon could hold office?"

            Pretty sure that's correct. Couldn't tell you which, off the top of my head, but with 50 states to choose from, I'm sure you could find at least one where a felony conviction is a non-issue for political office holders and/or aspirants. All I can say for certain is that Article 1, section 10 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 specifically prohibits convicted felons from holding public office unless they have first received a full pardon of their conviction. One of the few things (in law) that Louisiana does correct.

    4. Matthew Taylor

      Re: Female Privilege

      As others have said, this was more a question of straight corruption. Female privilege, is what keeps Hillary Clinton inexplicably high in the polls, no matter what she's found to have done.

    5. James Anderson

      Re: Female Privilege

      Has anyone ever been prosecuted for doing a mail redirect?

      I doubt it very much. Some sort of internal disciplinary procedure and a black mark on the personnel file maybe.

      Ms Clintons "special treatment" seems to be a level of scrutiny that has never been directed at any previous presidential candidate. No one asked about the million dollar bailouts George W. received from Saudi Arabia, no one questioned any of the many screwups that took place during Bush seniors term at the CIA.

      Hopefully some of the better Republicans will start putting the interests of their country above that of their party or personal ambition -- take a look at the brexit mess to see how badly wrong such selfish and partisan behaviour can turn out.

      1. 100113.1537

        Re: Female Privilege

        James,

        An Ambassador was sacked by the State Department for doing this exact thing (private email for work documents).

        The issue is not whether you could be prosecuted for the server, but whether this amounted to negligent handling of government documents. The FBI has gone as close as they could to saying "negligence" without actually crossing that line as that would have required a prosecution. That is why this is a political decision: There are no rules on when to call behaviour careless or negligent - purely a matter of the opinion.

        That is also why this decision will not stop any of the arguments - a different person could quite legitimately call this negligence (especially considering the number of documented occasions when it was brought to the notice of both Sec. Clinton herself and her staff).

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Female Privilege

        James Anderson said:

        "Hopefully some of the better Republicans will start putting the interests of their country above that of their party or personal ambition -- take a look at the brexit mess to see how badly wrong such selfish and partisan behaviour can turn out."

        Seriously? You make that statement about Republicans and pretend that the Dems have not been far more guilty of that behavior? How about Obama choosing to not enforce laws because he didn't like them, despite taking the oath of office to do so, yet saying Obamacare is "the law of the land" How about the Dems saying that legislation they put forth can have no compromise and the bills must have no other riders (such as the budget bills), but when Republicans do it, they are obstructive and uncompromising.

        No....you can't make your claim to be exclusive of Republicans, or be insulting about them (better Republicans, indeed) ... go back and sit in your hole.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      Re: Female Privilege

      I wonder if Hillary got off because Bill splashed out on an expensive lawyer?

      1. Mark 65

        Re: Female Privilege

        I wonder if Hillary got off because Bill splashed out on an expensive lawyer?

        I see what you did there. No, not you Bill.

    7. SolidSquid

      Re: Female Privilege

      In all fairness to Hillary (which isn't saying much), the FBI have also previously stated that this was a state of affairs which previous secretaries of state also had in place, it's just Clinton is the first to be investigated for it. It doesn't *justify* her doing it, but it does explain why the FBI might be reluctant to pull her in over it (they'd have to pull in at least the last two secretaries of state as well and explain why they didn't investigate/charge them)

      1. dmacleo

        Re: Female Privilege

        no other SoS had their OWN email server and refused a .gov email address.

        powell and rice did occasionally use (and report) their private email address but they also had a .gov address to use for their job.

        clinton used her own exchange email server under her own domain name (with email addresses that numerically changed through the years) she also refused to use a .gov address.

        anyone else would have been charged.

        1. PAW

          Re: Female Privilege

          Charged with what exactly?

          GW Bush created domain gwb43.com for email exclusively. Also used georgewbush.com and rnchq.org.

          You say, "powell and rice did occasionally use (and report) their private email address but they also had a .gov address to use for their job."

          How would you know? There are supposedly millions of missing emails from the Bush years. The House Oversight Committee said the private RNC servers have 140,216 emails sent or received by Karl Rove. Over half of these emails (75,374) were sent to or received from individuals using official ".gov" email accounts.

    8. BuckeyeB

      Re: Female Privilege

      This isn't about female privilege. This is about liberal privilege. The head of the FBI is an appointed position. The President of the Untied States is head of the Executive Branch which the FBI is a part of.

  2. OzBob

    Apparently Kim Dot Blob and Assange

    were crowing that they had information on this issue that could sink Hillary's candidacy. Given this report, are they more or less likely to put this forward and potentially embarass themselves?

    http://www.dailydot.com/layer8/kim-dotcom-hillary-clinton-julian-assange-wikileaks-presidential-campaign/

  3. From the States

    You can now call her O.J. Clinton.

    Just wait until Vlad starts blackmailing her.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge

      Re: You can now call her O.J. Clinton.

      "Just wait until Vlad starts blackmailing her."

      which is why we don't have "proof" of any Russian break-ins to the Clintstone private e-mail server aka "a way to prevent 'Freedom of Information' requests from revealing their dirty secrets". It's easier to blackmail someone if nobody can prove that Russia has that info. Or anyone ELSE for that matter (China maybe?).

      Not just 'one law for the Clintons, and another for everyone else', but communications and records and paper trails and all of that stuff that got Nixon in trouble. Mrs. Clinton was *kinda* involved in THAT, on the Demo-rat side anyway [to OUST Nixon].

      And what about that 'Foundation' of theirs, that allegedly accepts 100 million dollars in bribes charitable contributions from foreign interests, many of them NOT acting in the USA's best interest [a kinder and gentler way of putting it].

      Donald Trump is going to have a FIELD DAY with this. You KNOW it's coming. Mrs. Clinton's flat out lies to the American public, reminiscent of Bill's "I did not have sex with that woman" followed by LYING UNDER OATH [which Mrs. Clinton may NOT have done, but seeing her ADMIT things under oath might prove fun to watch, intermixed with her LIES to the American people, in a political ad]. Mrs. Clinton *CLEARLY* tried to skirt 'Freedom of Information' records-keeping and has NOT provided sufficient evidence that she's disclosed *ALL* work-related e-mails, classified or otherwise.

      As for the comparison to O.J., I was thinking of that earlier. O.J. certainly lawyered up and got away with murder. And the Clintstone legal team is probably the best and most powerful in the world.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Interesting downplaying there

    Comey says they were able to recover most of them from a "laborious review of the millions of email fragments dumped into the slack space of the server." The result? Three classified emails.

    So classified material was definitively found, but they're ignoring it because it's not as bad as it could have been?

    Seems like a weird approach to take.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Interesting downplaying there

      No one really thought they'd prosecute her.

      They've simply stated facts that contradict what Clinton has been claiming all along, confirming what's been obvious for 25 years: she tells more lies before breakfast than other politicians tell all day.

      1. Antron Argaiv Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        "...she tells more lies before breakfast than other politicians tell all day."

        ...and Trump's coming up fast on the inside.

        // eagerly waiting for the results of his IRS audit

        /// He's asking for donations now

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Interesting downplaying there

      Comely is being pragmatic.

      The fix was in and he knew that he couldn't get the indictment to go forward.

      She clearly broke the law, but again, the prosecution would have tanked the case and it would have been a wasted effort.

      Note that there was no mention of the FOIA violations.

      Or the potential corruption charges.

      Even still the Hidabeast should be disqualified from being POTUS.

      Also... Obama has been shown to be the worst POTUS in the history of the US.

      1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        He probably knows that the GOP have a smoking gun that will kill (politically and legally) Hillary should she get elected at the Confirmation Hearings.

        Then they can install DT and run for the hills like the Good Ole Boys they are.

        If you think we are in a political mess here in the UK, this is just the warm up act for the Hillary vs Trump main event. The problem is that neither of them are IMHO suitble to become POTUS.

        1. h4rm0ny

          Re: Interesting downplaying there

          Should not the FBI be obliged to prosecute criminal activity in the case of government? Allowing them to just drop charges when it is politically inconvenient (i.e. it's your likely future boss) is just an open invitation to excuse corruption.

          Who are the Internal Affairs of government?

          1. Blank Reg

            Re: Interesting downplaying there

            Well if they prosecute her then they will need to go after Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice as well as they also used personal email for official communications.

            1. tom dial Silver badge

              Re: Interesting downplaying there

              Using a personal email account for official communications was not, and as far as I know is not unlawful as such (I retired at the end of 2011 and there could be changes of which I am not aware). There are occasions when it is necessary to send or receive email but impossible or impractical to access a government network to do so. There was, and I presume is, guidance about when this is allowable and what additional steps, like copying a superior on such emails as I always did. The norm and requirement, however, was and is to use government facilities whenever possible.

              Clinton's use of personally owned and notably insecure facilities, administered "at her cost" by a former campaign aide hired to the State Department as a Schedule III political appointee, is far worse than Powell, Rice, and perhaps Albright using commercial email services that probably were maintained and secured to a halfway reasonable standard, particularly as neither of them reported using email very extensively compared to Secretary Clinton's average of well over 20 per day.

              I never expected an indictment in the matter, maybe partly because I don't know enough law to decide whether FISMA violations are prosecutable or lead merely to employee disciplinary action. However, "not indicted" is a very poor measure of fitness for an office of trust.

              1. PAW

                Re: Interesting downplaying there

                Tom Dial: The norm and requirement, however, was and is to use government facilities whenever possible.

                Wiki: On April 12, 2007, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that White House staffers were told to use RNC accounts to "err on the side of avoiding violations of the Hatch Act, but they should also retain that information so it can be reviewed for the Presidential Records Act," and that "some employees ... have communicated about official business on those political email accounts."[White House - April 12, 2007 Press Gaggle by Scott Stanzel]

                Tom Dial: Clinton's use of personally owned and notably insecure facilities, administered "at her cost" by a former campaign aide hired to the State Department as a Schedule III political appointee, is far worse than Powell, Rice, and perhaps Albright using commercial email services that probably were maintained and secured to a halfway reasonable standard.

                me: do you have an opinion about the level of security maintained on the private RNC servers?

                1. tom dial Silver badge

                  Re: Interesting downplaying there

                  PAW: Based on the quoted Wiki, which I did not look at but do not dispute, the security status of the RNC private server would be primarily a private RNC matter, as clintonemail.com certainly was not, despite the claimed instruction to retain the email as possibly covered by the Presidential Records Act. Much of what happens in the White House is in the gray area between official business and political party business. That is not the case (or is not supposed to be) for communications by the Secretary of State acting in her official capacity.

                  Based on reports in The Register and probably elsewhere, it is likely that the RNC's servers, like gmail, yahoo, and most other commercial services, were considerably more secure than clintonemail.com.

              2. MachDiamond Silver badge

                Re: Interesting downplaying there

                "Using a personal email account for official communications was not, and as far as I know is not unlawful as such (I retired at the end of 2011 and there could be changes of which I am not aware). There are occasions when it is necessary to send or receive email but impossible or impractical to access a government network to do so."

                The Secretary of State is one of the highest appointed offices in the US government and their communications are given a high priority. If they needed a scrambled, high security Sat phone while on a trip to a high risk country, they could have one for the asking. There would be no need to stand on a street corner waving a Crackberry around trying to find good signal. The same would go for written communications.

                A Representative on a "Fact-Finding" mission to Europe over the Christmas holidays might have more difficulty, but could arrange to use facilities at an embassy, consulate or mission if it were important to communicate securely.

                1. tom dial Silver badge

                  Re: Interesting downplaying there

                  @MachDiamond: I was referring to the agency that employed me. While it was a DoD agency, for practical purposes it handled no information more sensitive than Privacy Act PII that it would have been a serious "no-no" to put in an email message that transited an exchange point between the NIPRNET and the public internet. I do not know whether such traffic would necessarily have been caught, but it would have resulted in at least "counseling" if it were.

            2. IglooDude

              Re: Interesting downplaying there

              And General Petraeus as well.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Interesting downplaying there

            "Who are the Internal Affairs of government?"

            In the American government, that would be the respective Inspectors General.

            That post in the State Department went unfilled for about 6 years - until September 2013.

            Anyone that tries to read anything into that is part of a vast right-wing conspiracy.

        2. disgruntled yank

          Re: Interesting downplaying there

          There are confirmation hearings for cabinet-level and some sub-cabinet appointees, but there are no such things for elected officials.

          1. dlc.usa

            Confirmation Hearings

            The "confirmation hearings" for elected positions are supposed to be the election campaigns, the judges being the voters supported by an entirely unbiased, objective free press. What the Founding Fathers voiced as one prerequisite for the viability of the government they designed has ceased to manifest (another was franchised citizens were themselves reputable, moral, and responsible). They effectively guaranteed their government would break down if franchised citizens would not or could not exercise appropriate due diligence over those running for office. Jefferson in particular believed their government would inevitably become corrupted to the point of necessitating an armed revolution as the only possible remedy.

      2. tom dial Silver badge

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        I do not agree that Barack Obama is the worst of all presidents. That's a strong claim that requires strong evidence. He is, however, one of the most autocratic, driven partly by unwillingness of Republican legislators to work with him politically, but mainly by his diffidence and unwillingness to work politically with Republican legislators. He undeniably is a smart and thoughtful man, but any reports of his political competence are in error. In that respect, he is a dwarf beside Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan and numerous earlier presidents.

        Worth another upvote though. Hillary Clinton showed, by her disrespect for both her superior, the President, her subordinates at the Department of State, the laws she aspires to take Care be faithfully executed (US Constitution, Article II, Section III), and the people, that while she may be well-qualified for the office, she is unfit to hold it.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Interesting downplaying there

          "I do not agree that Barack Obama is the worst of all presidents. That's a strong claim that requires strong evidence."

          Well, can we shortlist him?

          1. tom dial Silver badge

            Re: Interesting downplaying there

            OK by me. I would rate him mediocre at best, as well as damaging to the republic based on impactive and divisive executive orders on matters that demand joint legislative and executive action.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Interesting downplaying there

          > He is, however, one of the most autocratic

          I'm curious about this. In what sense is BO the most autocratic? He's issued fewer executive orders (avg per year) than all of his predecessors dating back to Grover Cleveland.

          https://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/every-presidents-executive-actions-in-one-chart/

          1. tom dial Silver badge

            Re: Interesting downplaying there

            Executive orders covering some millions of people not legally resident in the US, for instance. The point is not that this is not something that should be done, but that it is something that, under the Constitution, requires action by the Congress, not the President alone. He didn't like the law of which he took an oath to ensure faithful execution, so he issued an executive order that executive agencies under his responsibility would not enforce it.

            Comparing numbers of executive orders per president is pretty much meaningless.

        3. joejack

          "while she may be well-qualified for the office, she is unfit to hold it"

          Awesome. Trump, then?

      3. bombastic bob Silver badge

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        "The fix was in and he knew that he couldn't get the indictment to go forward."

        PRAGMATIC, indeed. good observation.

        And the thumbs down:up ratio is 2:1 - nice job! [the shills and Soros minions are down-thumbing like madmen]

      4. PAW

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        "She clearly broke the law,"

        Be specific please. Which law(s) did she break?

      5. tom dial Silver badge

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        "Even still the Hidabeast should be disqualified from being POTUS."

        No. She meets the qualifications (Over 35, US citizen by birth). It is up to the Democratic Party convention to determine whether to put her forward, and to the US electorate to decide about her fitness to hold the office.

    3. kain preacher

      Re: Interesting downplaying there

      Are you aware that the stuff was classified after it was sent ?

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Mushroom

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        > Are you aware that the stuff was classified after it was sent ?

        Consider that a good reason not to violate policy.

        Hillary is really just the same old sort of CxO that ignores the same IT policies that will get the little people fired (or arrested).

      2. This post has been deleted by its author

      3. cirby

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        Apparently, you're the one who wasn't aware that at least some of it was classified BEFORE it was sent, with the classification marking taken off at her direct order. This is, of course, a crime.

        You should also realize that certain materials are "born classified," and should be treated as such whether anyone typed the word on the document or not.

        Of course, the fix was in, so they're glossing over that part. Along with insane amounts of other stuff.

        The best part of this debacle is that the FBI is admitting, in print, that Hillary Clinton is completely inept and careless with high-level classified information.

      4. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        > Are you aware that the stuff was classified after it was sent ?

        That doesn't mean anything.

        Andrew P. Napolitano (aka. "The Judge") writes in Hillary Clinton’s False Hopes

        Also this past weekend, Gen. Michael Hayden, formerly director of the CIA and of the National Security Agency, stated on CNN that it is a near certainty that the Russian government and others had access to Clinton’s non-secure server and all it contained.

        Lawyers familiar with the terminology of state secrets will refrain from using the word "classified" to describe the emails that contained state secrets, even though Clinton repeatedly does that. The word "classified" is not a legal term; rather, it is derived from the verb "to classify," and it means that the classification process has been completed.

        Since nothing is marked "classified" – the legal markings are "confidential," "secret" and "top secret" – Clinton has been materially misleading the public and the FBI when she claims that she never sent or received anything "marked classified."

      5. ShrNfr

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        Are you aware that it was explicitly stated today that the stuff was classified prior to it being sent? Some later stuff was "up-classified", but it is the responsibility of a person with a clearance to know what should be classified, even if it is not currently so. Further, there are "need to know" requirements. It would have been interesting to see who the recipients of the classified information were.

      6. MondoMan
        Facepalm

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        Actually, some of the classified emails were marked classified before Team Hillary sent them through the server.

      7. IglooDude

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        Are you aware that the Secretary of State is expected to assign classification to stuff themselves by virtue of their position?

        That's why Clinton has always been careful to say "there's nothing marked classified on my email server", rather than just "there's nothing classified on my email server". No one has ever accused Hillary Clinton of being dumb.

      8. Msnthrp

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        Director Comey specicallly stated that many of the emails were classified before they were sent and that some had classification markings when sent and received. The complete statement by Comey is on youtube - look it up.

    4. Captain DaFt

      Re: Interesting downplaying there

      "So classified material was definitively found, but they're ignoring it because it's not as bad as it could have been?"

      Well, be fair.

      If she'd used an officially sanctioned server, that data'd be available for download on the web now. So yes, it could be worse. :/

    5. david 12 Silver badge

      Re: Interesting downplaying there

      Let me downplay it even further.

      Classified as "secret". That is the government equivilant to "private".

      They're ignoring it because it's not bad.

      1. bombastic bob Silver badge

        Re: Interesting downplaying there

        'Classified as "secret".'

        'They're ignoring it because it's not bad."

        (sarcasm appreciated)

        Keeping it in perspective, here's a nice way of saying what the different classifications might mean:

        for official use only: potentially embarassing

        confidential: disclosure could compromise security or military advantage

        secret: disclosure could GET SOMEONE KILLED [or worse]

        top secret: disclosure could START A WAR [or worse] or cause the U.S. to LOSE a war

        (and there are higher levels but I don't know what they are)

        most of the interpretation of what each level means is just my opinion, but I was in the military back in the day, and I had access to classified material as part of what I did (nuclear reactor operator on a submarine). The location of a submarine is considered 'secret' and there was actual top secret equipment on the boat. Other things, like whether or not nuclear weapons are on board, are also 'secret'. The propulsion plant and mechanical details were 'confidential', and at the Nuclear Power school in Orlando, Florida, we had to stamp all of our notes and keep them locked up when not in class or studying.

        Anyway, in case nobody understood what 'secret' really means: In short, disclosing 'secret' information (or higher classification) can EASILY get people *KILLED*.

        You know, like the TERRORIST ATTACK at Ben Ghazi a few years ago...

  5. raving angry loony

    elReg trolling?

    "FBI won't jail future US president ..."

    Shirley, you must mean "candidate for future US president"?

    As for the rest, did anyone expect anything different? Powerful people get away with murder in the US, an email server is peanuts.

    1. fandom

      Re: elReg trolling?

      I am afraid they are being realistic.

      Seriously, H. Clinton vs. D. Trump, is that the best the US can do?

      1. Blank Reg

        Re: elReg trolling?

        When Kanye West said he would run for president in a future election I thought that was insane. I despise the guy, but even he wouldn't be the worst choice given the current candidates.

      2. Swarthy

        Re: elReg trolling?

        Well, there is G. Johnson, but because he wouldn't up the News shows' ratings he doesn't get much air time. Oh, and because he's a 3rd party "he doesn't stand a chance" so most people discount him, so he likely won't.

        Personally, I refuse to throw my vote away, so I'll be putting my mark down for Johnson.

      3. bombastic bob Silver badge

        Re: elReg trolling?

        "Seriously, H. Clinton vs. D. Trump, is that the best the US can do?"

        well, _I_ didn't have the time and money to run for president this time around. So I'd say, "yeah".

  6. Fan of Mr. Obvious

    US' sad story continues

    Tired of this. US government is so corrupt, and has been for so long, that we put up with this crap. Comey's remarks should have been "we are not going to file charges because 1/3 of the presidential cabinet would be part of the indictment."

    Between all the advancements in computer forensics, and the fact that they gave the admin a pass for his cooperation, no way they did not find enough to piss themselves. Either that or they are for less competent than anyone gives them credit for.

    Sad day indeed. Well at least we got to celebrate Independence Day before they kicked us in the balls.

    1. Ian Michael Gumby

      Re: US' sad story continues

      The only solution is to vote all of the Democrats out of office.

      This may sound like partisan politics but I'm an independent. Both parties wreak, however the Democrats have shown themselves to be the most corrupt party. We have seen countless examples of where the politicians put their party ahead of this country.

      We need new blood in office.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: US' sad story continues

        The Democrats have taken a terrible beating nationally the last two cycles. There are far fewer of them in office than before. What we are seeing now is an aging Mafia Don attempting to buy her way out of court, while at the same time asking the People to elevate her to the top of the power structure. So far it appears to be working, but now she has to make her 'supporters' actually go and vote for her. Sorry, but all the dirty money in the world won't make voters anxious to pull the lever for the Wicked Witch of the West.

        Her only hope is to make Trump look so satanic that the plebes will rush to the polls in horror of a Trump presidency. But he's just not that evil, and after seeing him on TV for years, everyone knows it.

        1. a_yank_lurker

          Re: US' sad story continues

          My take on Trump and Sanders is they both seem to care about where the US is headed even if they have very different ideas of what to do. One is blowhard and the other loon but they both have a degree sincerity and integrity. I can tolerate either as POTUS. Hildabeast is nothing more than a corrupt slime who could teach Boss Tweed a few pointers, like how to avoid jail.

          1. tom dial Silver badge

            Re: US' sad story continues

            I see two fundamental differences between Sanders and Trump. First, Sanders is undeniably qualified by experience and temperament for the office; better qualified, I would argue, than Hillary Clinton. Trump cannot say the same; creating and running successful businesses is not like being the US president, if only because the Senate, House of Representatives, and federal judiciary are full of men and women with independent power status that is not so evident in even publicly held companies and can be effectively nonexistent in privately held ones. Second, Sanders is a man of personal and intellectual integrity, worthy of trust, by all reports I have seen; while I would not say that Trump is not, it seems to me far less obvious in his case than in Sanders'.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: US' sad story continues

        How about a third party, like Libertarian?

      3. PAW

        Re: US' sad story continues

        Republicans with Hillary like email problems:

        Gov Jeb Bush

        Gov Scott Walker

        Gov Marco Rubio

        Gov Chris Christie

        Rick Perry and Booby Jindaln used private email accts

        Sec Condolezza Rice

        Sec Colin Powell

        1. Bob Dole (tm)

          Re: US' sad story continues

          I'd be ok with jailing every single one of them. Members of neither party should be held above the law. Actually, they should be held to a far higher level of accountability than anyone else.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: US' sad story continues

            Every time a Democrat is unequivocally shown to be really corrupt, we have to hear how "All politicians are rotten, throw out the lot of them!"

            BS. This is about Hillary, and Hillary alone. No one else has this kind of "email problem," sorry.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: US' sad story continues

              > No one else has this kind of "email problem"

              Well actually... the email servers at the state dept did.

              http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/10/politics/state-department-hack-worst-ever/

            2. PAW

              Re: US' sad story continues

              "BS. This is about Hillary, and Hillary alone. No one else has this kind of "email problem," sorry."

              Other than the entire Bush White House. Read for yourself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_White_House_email_controversy

        2. tom dial Silver badge

          Re: US' sad story continues

          Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, and Bobby Jindal were state governers and not subject to federal laws that govern storage and processing of federal government data. They may or may not have been compliant with applicable state laws; I do not recall seeing complaints about that. Marco Rubio's alleged problem occurred when he was a state legislator, so also not subject to the federal laws that Hillary Clinton violated during her tenure as Secretary of State.

          Condolezza Rice and Colin Powell (as well as Marco Rubio and most of the named governers) used commercial services that almost certainly were better maintained and more secure than Secretary Clinton's personal server setup (see, for example,

          http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/14/hillarys_sysadmin_next_to_the_pillory/).

          Both Rice and Powell also used email far less than Clinton, whose 30,000+ emails establish a rate of over 20 a day, including weekends and holidays.

          1. PAW

            Re: US' sad story continues

            The House Committee on Oversight and Reform issued an interim report on June 18, 2007 stating that at least 88 RNC email accounts were issued to Bush Administration officials. These included Karl Rove, Andrew Card (Chief of Staff), Kevin Melham (White House Director of Political Affairs).These email accounts were used by White House officials for official purposes, such as communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies. Of the 88 White House officials who received RNC email accounts, the RNC has preserved no emails for 51 officials.

            "The evidence obtained by the Committee indicates that White House officials used their RNC email accounts in a manner that circumvented these requirements (Presidential Records Act). At this point in the investigation, it is not possible to determine precisely how many presidential records may have been destroyed by the RNC. Given the heavy reliance by White House officials on RNC email accounts, the high rank of the White House officials involved, and the large quantity of missing emails, the potential violation of the Presidential Records Act may be extensive."

            The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Henry Waxman said "in some instances, White House officials were using nongovernmental accounts specifically to avoid creating a record of the communications."[ The Hill. Waxman wants RNC, Bush campaign to preserve e-mails. 26 March 2007]

            BTW, I'm quoting and plagiarizing from the Wikipedia article: 'Bush White House email controversy'

  7. Joerg

    The US is under the muslim mafia regime.

    The Clinton Kennedy mafia with the muslim Al Qaeda cell Barack Hussein Obama at the White House.

    And Trump is the Clinton puppet , trojan horse made to destroy the GOP.

    The US is not a democracy anymore thanks to these criminals.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The US is under the muslim mafia regime.

      Bad as Trump is, any crimes you could pin on him would not be a pimple on the arse of Hillary's crime syndicate record. So we'll thank you not to try for equivalence here, because there ain't none.

  8. Kumar2012
    Holmes

    What a shocking and totally unexpected result...

    a Democrat DOJ, under a Democrat president, not indicting a Democrat candidate for president, I am shocked I tell you, absolutely Shocked!

    1. kain preacher

      Re: What a shocking and totally unexpected result...

      You had to former republican state dep that did the same thing. Arrest her and you would have to arrest them.

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Mushroom

        Re: What a shocking and totally unexpected result...

        Not necessarily. Both the law and the internal policy could have changed.

        Since the other guy is not running for president, his infractions are also somewhat less significant. Although by the letter of the law, even a felony conviction probably wouldn't keep Hillary out of office.

        1. DavCrav

          Re: What a shocking and totally unexpected result...

          "Since the other guy is not running for president, his infractions are also somewhat less significant."

          What happened to all being equal in front of the law? A crime is a crime, and either both are prosecutable or neither is. Doesn't matter which job anybody is applying for.

      2. cirby

        Re: What a shocking and totally unexpected result...

        Not true at all.

        When Colin Powell was running State, he tested private email to see how well it worked. At the time, it wasn't against the rules to use a private account in conjunction with his official accounts. He was also very careful to not put classified information through that account, because he knew it wasn't secure enough. It was his experience that helped create the rules about the use of private email and records retention.

        Condoleeza Rice didn't use a private email account.

        On the other hand, Hillary's use of her private server came AFTER the rules were laid down. She didn't make any effort to secure her server, and did it to avoid record-keeping rules that applied to all government-related emails. Then she lied about it. She also sent a LOT of classified material (that was, yes, classified BEFORE she sent it). To top it off, she kept using it AFTER she knew it had been compromised. The Russians probably have a more complete list of her emails than we do.

        The comparison is almost comical.

        1. PAW

          Re: The comparison is almost comical.

          The George W. Bush admin used political email servers setup at the RNC to avoid being in the White House system. The Hatch Act prohibits gov resources being used for political purposes so the Bush admin said they used the RNC servers to be on the safe side. 88 RNC hosted email accounts were given to senior White House Staff. A private domain of gwb43.com was used (george w. bush, 43rd pres). The White House said 5 million emails may have been lost in potential violation of the Presidential Records Act ( mandates the preservation of all presidential records). Karl Rove is said to have used the RNC addresses for 95% of his email.

      3. tom dial Silver badge

        Re: What a shocking and totally unexpected result...

        @kain preacher and others wishing to equate the actions of Clinton, Rice, and Powell: The fact that Hillary Clinton is running for President (and neither Colin Powell nor Condolezza Rice is) should have nothing to do with whether to charge any of them, or not. Secretary Clinton's transgressions, at well over 20 email messages per working day, are far more significant than those of Powell, who admitted to a few hundred during his tenure, or Rice, who stated that she did not use email significantly. In addition, Secretary Clinton contrived to use a personally owned and operated, and quite insecure, setup for her official email correspondence, and Secretaries Powell and Rice reportedly used commercial services which probably had more competent and regular maintenance and hopefully better configuration than hers. There could well be justification for prosecuting Clinton but not either of the others, even ignoring the fact that federal information assurance standards and procedures became considerably more stringent between 2001 and 2009.

  9. FF22

    Whitewashing

    > intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information.<

    "In other words, sloppy but not illegal."

    That's not how things work. Intent matters, but one can break a law even then, if they had not intended to do so - and will still get prosecuted. For ex. most traffic accidents do not occur, because the drivers want to harm or kill the victims - yet, they will be prosecuted for it, even criminally.

    Clinton should be tried, for what she did. If she will not, then this will just prove again, that the so called American democracy is just a facade, where that law and justice is only enforced against poor people. Which most of us knew anyway.

    1. DavCrav

      Re: Whitewashing

      "That's not how things work. Intent matters, but one can break a law even then, if they had not intended to do so - and will still get prosecuted. For ex. most traffic accidents do not occur, because the drivers want to harm or kill the victims - yet, they will be prosecuted for it, even criminally."

      Depends on which laws. You cannot be guilty of murder one or fraud without intent, you can be found guilty of DUI without intent. Armchair lawyer versus head of FBI: I wonder who I'm going to trust on matters of law.

      "Clinton should be tried, for what she did. If she will not, then this will just prove again, that the so called American democracy is just a facade, where that law and justice is only enforced against poor people. Which most of us knew anyway."

      Here it is public interest: minor, unintentional breaches of classified information are very rarely prosecuted. If they were, you would have difficulty finding anyone to be a low-level official in such organizations, and have difficulty finding room to put all the new prisoners.

  10. OliP

    I give up with this world...

    "And no politicians are likely to make the same mistake in future."

    Why because of the huge penalties held against her?

    All this will do is ensure that more and more leaks happen as security is an after thought in the US these days, and when you've clearly broken the law youre let off. Unless youre a civilian of course.

    Next to be shown to have broken every rule in the book but no charges - BLAIR.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Correction

      "...when you've clearly broken the law you're let off.

      Unless youre a civilian Republican of course."

      There, fixed it for you.

  11. Steve Aubrey

    Redefinition

    ==> concluded that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case based on the evidence

    Somebody must have swapped out "no true Scotsman"

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Pardon

    Even if she was tried and convicted, I'm sure Obama would pardon her anyways.

  13. a_yank_lurker

    A large, heavy load

    Anyone who has even caught a whiff of classified information knows that it is a legal requirement to personally protect the information under the penalty of felony persecution - legal situation that has been around for decades. The fact that highly classified information was on her server is enough for any other peon to prosecuted and thrown into slammer for a very lengthy vacation courtesy of Club Fed.

    Also, sharing internal information, not classified, is a great help to the various spookhauses. One bit of training I had (very old) noted the mundane items like phone directories could be extremely useful to a competent spookhaus.

    The flag should be the bananas and stripes.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    And people wonder why Trump is hanging within 5% of Hillary's vote

    Even with his constant blather about hispanics not being suitable to serve as federal judges, banning muslim immigration, sexist faux pas about various women, banning well-known news organizations (Washington Post) from his campaign events, etc.

    Hillary should be leading Trump by double digits, but she just keeps reinforcing the mantra that on any given day she spends more time lying than the average American spends working.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Mushroom

      Re: And people wonder why Trump is hanging within 5% of Hillary's vote

      Hillary should be leading Trump by double digits

      That would be if Hillary had anything to offer except more neocon bullshit and populist "liberal" rhetoric. (Hell, she's the chosen candiate for Project For A New American Century II, this should make anyone's hair stand on end)

      Trump should be DESTROYING Hillary like a B-52 area bombardment with bunker busters and added napalm. Only Ameridumb mental zombification and the MSM's control of the Goodthink narrative served with fat amounts of Computer Graphics and Duckspeak keeps the Trump barbarian out of the entirely rotten, maggot-infested and pestiferous Rome of the establishment.

  15. Herby

    She DOES remember history...

    Hillary was a staffer during the Watergate hearings, when then president Nixon had his "tapes", that he could have destroyed and that would be the end. Then they were "discovered" and the downfall was inevitable given what was going on.

    Fast forward to today: Hillary controlled the server. Hillary edited the contents of the server (selectively "burned the tapes") to sanitize the problem. No "smoking gun"/"Deep Throat" and an uninterested press and the "problem" disappears.

    Now we need her to say "I am not a crook!".

    Observation: Where is Wikileaks when you need them??

  16. David Leigh 1

    Sloppy reporting

    'Unless there was evidence that Clinton or her team had knowingly bypassed reasonable security procedures.....'

    There is NO requirement for an offence to be committed 'knowingly' or with any intent, it is an absolute offence. Have a look at what happened to Bryan Nishimura for an infinitessimally smaller transgression of the law:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-05/peak-fbi-corruption-meet-bryan-nishimura-found-guilty-removal-and-retention-classifi

    What do you think Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch were talking about at Phoenix airport - their grandchildren?!

    1. tom dial Silver badge

      Re: Sloppy reporting

      It is only necessary to read the juicy parts of the State Department IG report to see that there was intent to bypass reasonable security procedures, and that is true even if the primary or secondary motive was to keep control of records that might be demanded under the FOIA or become permanent records of Secretary Clinton's tenure at the State Department.

  17. Terry 6 Silver badge

    unlikely to quieten the conspiracy theorists

    Nothing would. See Snopes for latest madness.

  18. Someone Else Silver badge
    Trollface

    The keyword there is "reasonable"

    At a press conference Tuesday morning, FBI director James Comey gave a lengthy description of the investigation his staff had carried out, focused on whether Clinton has mishandled classified information, and concluded that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case based on the evidence.

    And then you have Republicans....

  19. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    "FBI won't jail future US president over private email server"

    I didn't even know Trump had a private email server...

    But seriously, that's a masterful bit of "tiptoeing through the tulips" by Comey.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    FBI Director Comey is a republican

    This isn't well reported in the press, and likely none of our international readers are aware of this. He was appointed by Obama because he had promised to appoint a couple republicans to cabinet level positions hoping that would help bipartisanship (obviously he was wrong there!)

    Previously he was appointed Deputy Attorney General by George Bush, and before that was a federal prosecutor. Those who think "the fix is in" will still think that, but it wasn't due to a lifelong democrat whitewashing things at the FBI.

    http://theweek.com/articles/463795/james-comey-why-obama-wants-republican-fbi-chief

  21. Adam 1

    this whole thing could have been avoided

    .... if Apple had just unlocked that iPhone. It is encrypted phones that cause risk to all, definitely not classified information being stored on unsecured servers. Definitely not opm databases going walkabouts to China. Nope. iPhone encryption is where it's at.

    /at least I am guessing that's where Coomey surveys his threat model.

    // Fast forward to next iPhone-gate-gate. So POTUS H, remember when we made that email server case disappear? There's another box of stuff we didn't bother reading inside a filling cabinet in a disused lavatory with a leopard warning. Be a real shame to have to clean that out. Sorry, got sidetracked. Where was I. Oh, that's right. Can we talk about banning mathematics, sorry, I mean encryption?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: this whole thing could have been avoided

      Well part of it too is that if you prosecuted Hillary, democrats would be calling for an investigation of former secretary of states Powell and Rice, neither of whom used official state department email but used their own for all their official business. It is unlikely they operated any differently than Hillary did, which is probably why career (i.e. not partisan appointees) state department officials never flagged Hillary's use of private email as a problem. They'd seen it all before, and to stick around a long time through administrations of both parties they know you can't be a boat rocker.

      1. tom dial Silver badge

        Re: this whole thing could have been avoided

        Career State Department security and IT staff who raised questions about Ms. Clinton's server were instructed "never to speak of the Secretary’s personal email system again." The State Department Inspector General's report on the matter is interesting, maybe especially for those inclined to make light of it.

  22. PhilipN Silver badge

    "...Clinton's personal email domain, in its various configurations since 2009..."

    Oh?

    So there were opportunities throughout to review, re-configure and re-organise the way she operated to avoid illegality?

  23. Pompous Git Silver badge

    How about...

    ... prosecuting the sysadmin of the mail server for not keeping backups?

    Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I do not believe for one instant that several thousand emails no longer exist.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: How about...

      Quite so!

      In any case, they certainly can be found in a data center in Utah. To be printed out and slipped elegantly across a waxed desk should the need ever arise, accompanied by a small cough and raised eyebrows, as is the Imperial City's custom.

      (One should also prosecute the cleaning lady for not adequately dusting around the server, the gardener for not appropriately cutting the greens visible from the server room windows etc.)

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge

      Re: How about...

      "Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I do not believe for one instant that several thousand emails no longer exist."

      the Clintstones are well known to have shredded a bunch of documents at the Rose Law firm related to Whitewater... (according to actual testimony from a courier in 1994). "What evidence?" Exactly!

      This is nothing new, in other words. Nor, is it unexpected from the Clintstones.

      1. Pompous Git Silver badge

        Re: How about...

        the Clintstones are well known to have shredded a bunch of documents at the Rose Law firm related to Whitewater... (according to actual testimony from a courier in 1994). "What evidence?" Exactly!

        That's all very well, but it's a damn sight easier to shred paper documents and hope that there are no existing photocopies than it is to delete every copy of an email. This is where Phil Jones (CRU) and his pals came unstuck. FOIA (whoever he/she/it is) had taken the precaution of backing them up or copying an existing backup.

        A genuine conspiracy theory here would be a man in the middle attack on what is described as "an insecure server" from the NSA for example. Never mind the Norks, Russians, al Qaeda, Uncle Tom Cobbley... Whoopsie! I wan't supposed to mention Uncle Tom. How embarrassing!

    3. PAW

      Re: How about...

      The Bush administration created 5 million missing emails when there was an investigation into the firing of 8 U.S. Attorneys. That later grew to 22 million missing emails.

    4. Someone Else Silver badge

      @ Pompous Git -- Re: How about...

      Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but I do not believe for one instant that several thousand emails no longer exist.

      I'll pass on the epithet, but perhaps you should ask Colin Powell about emails that no longer exist. I understand he is quite the expert in that domain.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: @ Pompous Git -- How about...

        Any email Hillary sent or received that included someone with a state department address should still exist in the system somewhere as it would be covered under the state department email server's retention. If she emailed putin@kremlin.ru and didn't cc: anyone, it'll be lost (unless the NSA has broken into his email and has a copy)

  24. Herbert Meyer
    Flame

    burn the witch !

    Burn the witch Hillary ! We have years of this to look forward to.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ignorance as defence?

    "there was no "clear evidence" that Clinton or anyone on her team has "intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information."

    So ignorance of the law is now a legitimate defence?

    "Sorry your honour, I didn't know that driving at 100mph through a school zone was illegal"

    "OK, that's alright then. Off you go."

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh it's gonna hurt real bad

    When Trump is beaten to the POTUS job.

    Go Hillary.

  27. Geoffrey W
    Devil

    Cripes!

    You guys should all go hang out at Alt.Conspiracy on usenet. You'd fit right in. You better watch your backs though; you know the Clintons kill all their enemies, right?...well...some of their enemies...perhaps...maybe...Wait...whats that behind you?????? BOO!!!

  28. Thatguyfromthatforum

    Fine, ignore the emails but what about Benghazi?

  29. David Roberts

    In related news

    Chilcot report now out.

    Prosecutions?

  30. oneeye

    Get Ready for More Full Fledged Wars,

    No matter who becomes the next US president, the whole world will suffer the consequences. They will enrich themselves in the wars that will surely come. None are competent to lead, or have any empathy for others. Authoritarian, narcissistic, criminals lead the world's nations. Prepare yourselves, a storm is coming.

    1. Geoffrey W

      Re: Get Ready for More Full Fledged Wars,

      ...And the night is dark, and full of terrors...

      1. Geoffrey W
        Terminator

        Re: Get Ready for More Full Fledged Wars,

        ...but do not worry, the proletariat always pays its debts...that which is dead may never die...summer is coming...and the nights king will melt...<Walks away with a huge fire in the background>

  31. phuzz Silver badge
    IT Angle

    Explanation needed

    Can anyone explain to me why Hillary seems to be hated so much by half the US?

    Yes, I've heard "she lies all the time", "she's corrupt" and so on, but from this side of the Atlantic she doesn't seem to be any better or worse than the average politician.

    Is there some specific reason that she's so much worse than any other politician? Or is it just partisanship getting more heated than normal?

    Genuinely curious.

    1. Swarthy

      Re: Explanation needed

      I had written a wall-o'-text, but here's the short version: She's female, and this puts her in the spotlight, and the spotlight shows all the crap that successful politicians do, and make her slime all the more noticeable. She also has a core of support that shields her from any backlash from slimy moves that go wrong.

      1. Geoffrey W

        Re: Explanation needed

        RE: "She's female"

        And, she's a Clinton, and a Democrat. For many people just being a Clinton is enough, but as any fule no a democrat is a communist heathen atheist fascist dictator, to which sins we can now add Obama's being a Moslem atheist, and whose only aim is to hate all Americans and destroy them all as slowly as possible. They dream of the old USSR and have secret pictures of Stalin on their walls. I know what-about-ery is not cool but there are politicians who I consider much much worse, such as Dick Cheney, but apparently he's a patriot and can do no wrong. The extreme hatred of Hilary and her rather mild sins is utterly irrational and seems to be sweeping through folk of a certain persuasion like an outbreak of mass hysteria. To answer the OP there is no rational reason to hate her so much more than almost any other politician, or at least none that I can discern. She has become in the minds of too many people a cartoon villain MWAHHAHAHAing in the shadows, and her enemies and the media are taking full advantage of this fact.

    2. WolfFan Silver badge

      Re: Explanation needed

      See http://www.gocomics.com/pricklycity/2016/06/24, a mild example of the output of a right-wing cartoonist, and one who hates Donald Trump (another of this strips has him pointing out that the Founding Fathers would have been less concerned about the black Prez than the, ahem, orange one.

      1. Geoffrey W

        Re: Explanation needed

        Seeing that cartoon reminds me of Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert. Apparently Adams is a trained hypnotist and skilled in the art of persuasion. Adams says it would be a mistake to underestimate Trump. Trumps is apparently using all the tools of persuasion and using them well and managing to convince a lot of people to vote for him. Even those who hate Trump are being manipulated and are behaving in a very predictable manner. Trump looks at who he is talking to and says what those people will react to in the way Trump wants them to react. In California he promises water. In Arizona and New Mexico he promises a big wall. He is more formidable than he has led his haters to believe.

  32. Nameless Faceless Computer User

    Hillary is the only person who can stop Trump. Does anyone, anywhere not want that to happen? We can forgive some sloppy email handling.

    1. Otto is a bear.

      Up to the Ballot Box now.

      God help you.

      I'm glad I don't have to make the choice between Clinton or Trump. Or watch a Republican Senate and Congress try and subvert the democratic process, should Trump lose.

      You have to admire a process that takes a year to choose a candidate, a few months before an election, in this day and age, there must be a better way, now that geography is somewhat less important.

      1. Swarthy

        Re: Up to the Ballot Box now.

        A year, Ye Gods! I wish it was only a year.

        Also, I wish we had better options.

  33. Gigabob

    How Times Change

    Many forget that Secretary Clinton relied on advice from her predecessor, Colin Powell - previously Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - for advice on email and messaging at State as she took over. He entered a world where a technophobic state department did not quite know how to spell "email" let alone have processes in place for managing it properly. After setting up her own services as done by Powell it is hard to remember the need to manage the underlying administrivia when you are in a Sec State role running over a million miles a year and corresponding all over the world. Your key criteria - did my messages get through and did just the people who were supposed to get them get them.

    Many fail to recall a huge scandal that occurred on the Secretary's watch - Wiki Leaks, where the State Department's internal emails were breeched and sent out for global publication. At the time I bet Ms Clinton was glad she had her own private server instead of government services and security. The same security that saw every known malevolent state actor hack White House Emails, Pentagon (F35 plans to China), OPM - where all the top secret HR files for Presidents, Generals, and spies were hacked. The list of successful government hacks is rather too long to enumerate here. Where is the FBI/CIA/NSA in safeguarding these systems? Oh right - they have Edward Snowden's to worry about.

    Lest we point fingers to all the massive government incompetence - we should look carefully at our own practices. Has your password changed since 1990? 2000? 2010? Do you change your password every 30 days and is it a complex alpha-numeric with more than 12 characters? Despite being in the technical dark ages in 2008 with respect to cyber-security - even in 2016 we would at best have just recently discovered the steam engine. We have a long way to go.

    When Clinton took the State Department Office in 2008, the world was a very different place geo-politically and technologically. The planet was in the midst of its greatest recession in 70 years. A new President assumed office and was embroiled in domestic economic collapse and global conflicts while a new model of diplomacy was being embraced. Into that environment the prime objective for Ms Clinton was getting messages on a timely basis. Her predecessors advice was to not rely on internal staff based on their lack of technological familiarity. The world has changed radically since 2008.

    Clinton left office in 2012 and with each 4 year interval the level of technical expertise and security awareness has changed geometrically - and yet, Sony, Home Depot, Panama Papers, Your Favorite Hospital. The list of major hacks and infiltrations using phishing attacks and social media to subvert mail and sophisticated security standards seems to grow each month.

    My question is whether the right yardstick was used to judge Clinton - and I think it was. However, I take the words of James Comey - the FBI director - as a reminder to Clinton that things have radically changed and she needs to focus on cyber-security in any future new roles. It is ironic that despite shaming Ms Clinton for her security expertise, Comey, just a few months earlier, begged the courts - since "Congress" and "act" are oxymoron's, to force Apple to make their phone systems less secure so the FBI can crack them.

    1. Msnthrp

      Re: How Times Change

      I didn't know Huma Bedin used the Gigabob!

    2. energystar
      Childcatcher

      Re: How Times Change

      Thanks to Gigabob.

    3. energystar
      IT Angle

      Re: How Times Change

      Muddy times -those ones- to get balanced perspectives. Maybe that insider IT people was more easily 'gone dark', then scared.

  34. R.P.Charlie

    With so many lies from Clinton and the Administration, and Bill Clinton's "off-chance" meeting with AG Lynch on an airport tarmac a week ago or so, to supposedly discuss his grandchildren, who is going to believe the FBI?

    'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark America'

  35. Gis Bun

    Oh Trump will continue to whine like a baby about this just like he did years after it was proven that Obama was born in the US.

    Trump will continuing his whining even after he loses badly in November.

    Hey. The FBI director is a Republican and even he couldn't agree that what she did was so bad.

    Even those who sent mail should of noticed that she wasn't using a government approved server [no .gov is a hint].

  36. Florida1920

    It isn't over yet

    The hope by some that Clinton's use of a private email server would somehow provide a silver bullet to kill her candidacy has however died.

    GOP TO INVESTIGATE FBI DECISION ON CLINTON EMAILS

    WASHINGTON (AP) - Angry House Republicans are announcing plans to investigate FBI Director James Comey's decision against pressing criminal charges for Hillary Clinton over her handling of classified emails. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Comey's decision defies explanation and leaves many questions unanswered. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee called Comey to testify on Thursday, and the Judiciary panel announced that Attorney General Loretta Lynch would appear next week.

    The GOP has to keep this in the news so Trump can use it against Clinton. Fox News [sic] will trumpet it and the Trumpettes will eat it up. GOP Congress-critters can't see what's coming. If you believe what he says, a Trump presidency will render both houses of Congress redundant, because Trump "has a very good brain" and he will make his own decisions. He don't need no stinking advice and consent.

    That said, Clinton was reckless and that's not a good prerequisite for a president either.

    1. Bob Dole (tm)

      Re: It isn't over yet

      --"announcing plans to investigate "

      that's code for: they will be on a few talk shows this week, then ignore it until the week before the actual election. At which point they will go on a few talk shows...

      1. Florida1920

        Re: It isn't over yet

        Funny how they find time to interrogate the FBI director and Atty General, but can't seem to pass legislation to halt the spread of the Zika virus. Thinking it over, maybe pre-empting Congress isn't such a bad idea. As long as we don't have to keep paying them.

      2. Geoffrey W
        Trollface

        Re: It isn't over yet

        Oh, you do them injustice. Research is so much more than going on chat shows. It also means reading World Net Daily and The Drudge Report, neither of which tasks is easy and takes up time when they could be doing more useful things such as prayin', shoot'n, and going to public "Rest" rooms.

    2. PAW

      Re: It isn't over yet

      There may be more than a few high level Republicans that are not eager to have email issues in the news.

  37. Marty McFly Silver badge
    FAIL

    "Future US President"

    Oh, come on Reg, a little accuracy please?

    Right now, on July 6, 2016, Hillary Clinton is the "presumed Democrat Party nominee". She has not yet been officially selected by her party, and she sure hasn't faced the election in November. She may or may not prevail. However, in no case is she the "future president".

  38. tweell

    No reasonable prosecutor would bring charges. True - reasonable prosecutors worry about their families and their own mortality.

  39. DToma

    Oh, please not Hillary

    I voted for Bernie Sanders in the caucus our state had back in March. Bernie always seemed to draw huge crowds during his campaign rallies. The times that I saw Hillary Clinton speak, I wondered where her crowds were.

    Seriously, though, if she wins in November, I think it will be for two reasons: She is a woman and nobody wants Donald Trump as POTUS. There are a lot of women in the US who are chomping at the bit to have a woman as POTUS. But, Hillary is not the first woman to ever run for the Democratic nomination.

    Hillary also has things going against her. She is not particularly likeable and she's not an easy woman to trust based upon her history. I do not understand why the Republicans are all in a tizzy over Hillary Clinton, if she became POTUS, she would be the best President the Republicans could ever ask to have.

    I think America is ready for a woman as President; but, there is a better option: Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I just lost any confidence in the US

    Bunch of corrupted politicians, fighting for power and ignoring their own rules when it's for their convenience. I know about practicing good OPSEC, having worked at a military base, and cannot believe just how corrupted the whole system is, even the FBI is corrupted.

    I once was convinced that the US was a fair country, looking to do good in the world and live in peace etc, but with just happened with Clinton, it makes me believe the US I used to know is dead and it has become what everybody should be fighting against. Ironic I know... I think most US citizens would like a country where rules and laws are followed by everybody. I don't care if other people did the same thing, if they did, they should be prosecuted and punished as well. All I can say is that I lost any faith in the US with this outcome. It's just outrageous...

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    To all defending Clinton

    Have you worked with anything close to keeping records safe as with PCI rules. Have you ever enforced IT security where secrets matter a lot to the company? Do you care about national intelligence and secrets being safe? How can you defend what Clinton did just because she's running for the democratic party, are you really that sheep like? Where are all the IT guys that give a damn about their profession? Is there any democrat IT guy that thinks that the FBI recommendation is fine and that what Clinton did doesn't deserve any punishment?

    I just hope the guys working in IT that think that what Clinton did doesn't deserve jail time or at least become unfit to rule the US, do not work in any security related job. If so, I truly believe they suck at their jobs. Lack of integrity and honesty.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: To all defending Clinton

      This thread is completely loaded with feminists. Nay, 3rd-wave-female-chauvinists that even feminists disavow. 'Nuff said.

      1. h4rm0ny

        Re: To all defending Clinton

        >>"This thread is completely loaded with feminists. Nay, 3rd-wave-female-chauvinists that even feminists disavow. 'Nuff said."

        I think you're seeing what you want to see. I'm a feminist (check my posting history here on El Reg if you want to see plenty of evidence) and I'm not defending Hilary's actions.

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Misogyny mixed with conspiracy theorist cray-cray

    Look at the US's reaction to an African American President.

    Nut-jobs ahoy, I'm looking at you Donald.

    Some just can't stand the fact that a woman might take the top job.

    It's about time one did!

    I mean, it's not like 50% of the US population with XY chromosones have EVER done anything for their country.

    </sarc>

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Misogyny mixed with conspiracy theorist cray-cray

      Don't you mean misandry? How is the world's most corrupt woman getting off misoginy?

      And not like men have done anything? How about built the best country in the world! It only recently went to heck.

      And cray-cray? Seeing misogyny around evey corner? How old are you?

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like