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by Jack Kelly
November 2, 2016
Who’da thunk the FBI would spring the Mother of all October Surprises?
The Bureau is reopening its investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails, because thousands more have been discovered on the laptop computer of Anthony Weiner, soon to be ex-husband of Hillary aide and confidante Huma Abedin, Director James Comey said in a letter to Congress Oct. 28.
In early October, agents investigating whether Mr. Weiner sent lewd texts to an underage girl found 650,000 emails on his computer, thousands to or from Ms. Abedin, according to the must read story by Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Devlin Barrett.
She often forwarded emails from her state.gov account to either clintonemail.com or her Yahoo account so she could print them at home rather than at her State Department office, Ms. Abedin told the FBI.
FBI agents were peeved because the Justice Department slow rolled their request for a subpoena for Ms. Abedin’s emails. (The subpoena that permitted agents to seize Mr. Weiner’s computer only authorized them to examine his emails.)
Two days after their existence was made public, Justice issued a subpoena for Huma’s emails.
Republicans bashed Mr. Comey for giving Hillary a pass after acknowledging she was negligent in handling classified information and destroyed evidence.
Now Democrats hammer the FBI director for making the new probe public 12 days before the election.
Mr. Comey wouldn’t have…unless the FBI uncovered “a real bombshell”, speculated investigative reporter Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame.
Director Comey may have felt he had no choice.
He’d told Congress the investigation of Hillary was over. If he hadn’t informed lawmakers of the change in circumstances, word of the find on Mr. Weiner’s computer almost certainly would have leaked – Director Comey is about as popular with the FBI rank and file as Donald Trump is with the National Organization for Women.
It would look as if Mr. Comey were withholding pertinent information to protect Hillary. What shards remain of his reputation for integrity would be smashed.
Mr. Barrett’s story had good news and bad news for FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. His wife, Jill, got $470,000 – a mammoth sum for a state senate candidate – from a SuperPac controlled by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Clinton crony who the FBI is investigating for soliciting illegal contributions.
A senior Justice Department official criticized Deputy Director McCabe for continuing an investigation of the Clinton Foundation Justice wanted quashed, Mr. Barrett reported. The official backed off after Mr. McCabe indignantly responded: “Are you telling me I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation?”
But some rank and file agents think Mr. McCabe is one of the senior officials who’ve been throwing roadblocks in their path, Mr. Barrett said.
The most recent Wikileaks data drop augments considerable circumstantial evidence Hillary was hiding “play for pay” deals. The secretary of state would do favors for people – even for shady characters hostile to the United States – after they made big contributions to the Clinton Foundation.
An explicit quid pro quo would constitute receiving or soliciting a bribe, felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Might evidence of one turn up in the Huma emails?
The Clinton Foundation is a “cesspool,” says former FBI Deputy Director James Kallstrom, which likely reflects what agents assigned to the investigation are thinking.
Mr. Barrett’s exposure of efforts to quash investigations of the Clinton Foundation makes it harder for Justice to impede them now. FBI agents are likely to get the investigative tools they need. Sunlight is a great disinfectant.
The FBI can’t complete investigations of Hillary’s emails and the Clinton Foundation before the election. But it may finish one or both before the next president is inaugurated. If Hillary wins, she could be the first president-elect ever to be indicted for a felony.
She may not win. Polls have tightened since Director Comey’s October Surprise. Democrats are learning that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to nominate a crook who peddles influence to every lowlife who crosses her palm with enough silver.
“If ruling Democrats hold themselves to the high moral standards they impose on the people they govern, they would demand that Mrs. Clinton step down, immediately,” said Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass.
Are we having fun yet?
— Jack Kelly is a former Marine and Green Beret, and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force during the Reagan Administration. He is the national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This article originally appeared at To The Point News.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
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