May You Live in Interesting Times ~ Ancient Curse (Part Ten)

Editorial, The Week in Review – Analysis, Commentary, Opinion

10.29.2016

May You Live in Interesting Times ~ Ancient Curse

Part Ten

There has been a lot of talk throughout the month of October, about the so-called October surprise; the piece of breaking news that will slip into the consciousness of the electorate and throw the election one way or another.

For Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s nominee for President, there were no surprises, there was just a steady stream of revelations regarding his character, and conduct toward women; revelations that were not surprising at all, because they were consistent with a decades long history of public statements he has made, and actions he has taken that show him in the light of a serial abuser of women, some in his employ, some merely seeking work, other merely sitting next to him at a nightclub, or on an airplane.

T-Rump strikes again, and again in a long stand pattern, or habit of sexual assault.

For the Democratic Party’s nominee for President, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the surprise came in the form of a statement from the director of the FBI; James Comey. A man whose office was charged with investigating thousands of e-mails; either sent to, or sent by Hillary Clinton, through a private server at her estate in New York.

Throughout the political season, until July of 2016, Hillary Clinton’s campaign had been operating under a cloud of suspicion, the suspicion that she may have broken the law, by revealing or sharing classified intelligence materials through her private system. Other prominent public officials had recently been charged with crimes, found guilty, faced imprisonment, and heavy fines for such violations.

However, in July, after an intensive investigation, and after hours of testimony given by Hillary, to the FBI, and to Congressional committees; it was the judgement of the investigators that no crimes had been committed by Hillary. She had, perhaps been careless, but no there was no evidence of a crime they felt they could prosecute, or prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

Comey, the FBI director; he has been serving the Obama administration throughout Obama’s two terms. He was appointed to the ten-year post by President George W. Bush. He is a republican, and he had previously held partisan political posts, nevertheless he is the director of the FBI.

When he issued the statement in July, that Hillary would not be prosecuted for any crimes related to her e-mails, he did so in such a way as to level serious criticism against her. He accused her of incompetence, carelessness, and malfeasance to a level just shy of being criminal.

His political friends cried foul, while at the same time making as much hay out of his statement as they possibly could. His political friends wanted Hillary prosecutes, regardless of the fact that there was no evidence of any crime.

Now, two and half months later, with just eleven days to go before the election; Comey announces that he has reopened the investigation into Hillary’s e-mails, based on some evidence they found in an unrelated case.

He gave no other information, except to say that the new evidence may not be significant at all; the FBI was merely investigating it, and Hillary’s critics pounced.

The FBI director did this; contrary to a long standing protocol of the justice department, to not issues statements about investigations or any political matter within sixty days of an election. He violated justice department protocols in order to aid his republican allies in the current election cycle.