The Important Discussion We're Not Having About Hillary Clinton
- pmauriellojr
- Jul 6, 2016
- 5 min read
"Two things form the bedrock of any open society - freedom of expression and rule of law. If you don't have those things, you don't have a free country." - Salman Rushdie
In the wake of the biggest press conference the FBI has probably given in recent American history, the country still is discussing the outcome of the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private server for her emails during her time as Secretary of State.
A lot was said by FBI director James Comey in his press conference yesterday, but the most important phrase uttered by the director was "extremely careless." After about a 15-minute press conference on the issue, the final result was that the FBI did not find nearly enough to recommend charging Clinton with any crimes.
After the press conference, it was not surprising many people took to social media to voice their opinions. The Right was outraged while the Left let out a sigh of relief. Many questions were asked such as "Are the Clintons above the law?", "Was this rigged from the start?". These issues sadly may never get answered in our time.
One legal commentator threw out some U.S Code in hopes to shine some legal light on the situation. He cited U.S Code Title 18 Section 2071(b) which states:
"Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States."
While this may be an excellent citation of the U.S Code, it probably doesn't point any fingers to why the Department of Justice should prosecute. Clinton supporters will most likely point to the fact that Clinton did not willfully delete emails that should not have been deleted. This argument can go back and forth forever, with little to show for it but wasted breath.
I argue that if you are arguing about whether she committed the crime or not, you are missing the forest for the trees. It is not that Clinton did what has probably been done by other Secretaries of State before, it is how she went about confronting the issue.
There are some alarming disparities between what Clinton has said in regards to this case, and what the FBI discovered.
"I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material..." - Clinton in March, 2015
"Seven email chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level...These chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending emails about those matters and receiving emails." - James Comey yesterday during press conference.
"Nothing I sent was marked classified or that I received was marked classified" - Clinton in March 2016
"Even if information is not marked classified in an email, participants who know or should know, that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it." - Comey in yesterday's press conference
"I take classified information very seriously" - Clinton in February 2016
"...There is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information." - Comey in yesterday's press conference.
Instead of throwing out U.S Code or other statutes that may or may not indict Hillary Clinton, I argue that there is one legal definition that I have yet to see, fraud.
The definition of fraud from Legal Dictionary defines fraud as:
"A false representation of a matter of fact—whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading allegations, or by concealment of what should have been disclosed—that deceives and is intended to deceive another"
Now will Hillary Clinton go to jail for fraud? I would not hold my breath, but while she may have escaped indictment from the Department of Justice, she has yet to escape indictment from the American people.
As I stated already, both sides could argue until they are blue in the face over who did what and how it was done, but that would not get to the heart of the issue. Hillary Clinton knowingly and willingly came out in public and denied the existence of such emails. Her actions and representations in front of the American people are the real crime here.
In reading the reactions yesterday, many were outraged, but many were also relieved. Some stated, "Let's move on to more important conversations." In my opinion, this is the most important conversation to have right now. Politics is about discussion. Our government was created precisely for discussing openly and honestly our political leaders. To sweep such an issue under the rug would be a condemnation of the founding principles of our country.
A discussion like this may involve both sides conceding a bit. It may take Democrats to admit that Hillary Clinton handled this poorly, and it was not her best judgment to lie about what happened. It may take Republicans easing off the conspiracy theory argument a bit more. Honest and open conversation only occurs when both sides take a closer look at their positions and put those opinions out there for debate.
Which brings me back to the quote by Salman Rushdie, which began this article. If we truly believe we live in a free society, we have to feel free to discuss the issues at hand openly. Hillary Clinton may have won a battle yesterday, but the war is far from over. Clinton still needs to face the American people in November, with this cloud hanging over her head. Whether the American people decide to forgive is yet to be seen.
You see, in times of political upheaval and change, it is more important than ever for us as Americans to exercise the rights we were given. It is necessary that we have discussions, which have open debates, where we tackle the tough issues facing our country. Hiding our heads in the sand, or merely saying "let's move on" does not fix the problem. We awake every day in a country that promises individual rights and freedoms, but those rights and freedoms are not guaranteed every morning we wake up. We have to exercise them; we have to use them, because if they are not, then we effectively are forfeiting them.
Discussions need to be had over this issue, and all issues. Public debate, whether it is with friends at a bar or on Facebook, need to be had. It is our right to have such discussions. It is a privilege that we have earned.
We as American citizens have the power to exercise these rights all the way up until November when we get to exercise our most important right, the right to select our representatives. And when November arrives, will we as a population look at ourselves and say we openly and honestly discussed and debated the future of our country? Or will we blindly cast our ballot and sweep the ugliness under the rug for someone else to deal with?
Maybe, in the end, this is the most important discussion to be having.
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