Facts Voters Need to Know About the FBI’s Probe into Hillary’s Emails

Now that the FBI has acquitted Hillary Clinton once again for the emails she supposedly sent out during her time as Secretary of State, the only real question that remains is whether or not the controversy will cost Clinton her shot at the Presidency of the United States of America. Clinton’s chief adversary, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, has made the allegations a big speaking point in the last few days, in the hopes that the FBI’s now-dropped case will actually work in his favor. Only the final vote will tell. Before you decide one way or the other however, just consider these facts about the FBI’s probe.

So, How Did This All Start?

Way back in 2015, the FBI caught wind of information that Hillary Clinton had used a private email server to issue official communications during her time as Secretary of State. The major issue there, was that her private server wasn’t as secure as the government server she was supposed to use (i.e. it’s more susceptible to getting hacked). Over concerns that Clinton may have inadvertently divulged top secret information through her private server (read: committed treason), the FBI demanded that Clinton hand over her emails.

Wait, Wasn’t That All Settled?

Yes, yes, it was. Way back in July. Then on October 29, it was discovered that perpetual tool Anthony Weiner — the subject of an FBI investigation involving statutory rape (because he’s a real class act) — occasionally let his wife, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, use his computer for official communications. In light of this revelation, FBI Director James Comey announced that the agency was re-opening its investigation into possible inappropriate activity on Clinton’s part.

Comey Got in Some Real Hot Water For The Announcement

And things aren’t looking good for him now that he’s stated that the FBI won’t pursue charges against Clinton. Comey was accused of violating the long held Hatch Act, which prohibits public officials from using their power to influence elections.

On November 3, Donald Trump told crowds: “The FBI is Investigating How Hillary Clinton Put the Office of Secretary of State Up For Sale in Violation of Federal Law.” Wrong

Trump Also Said the Investigation Was “High-Priority” and “It Had Been Going on For Way More Than a Year . . .” Also Wrong

Okay, One More: Trump Said “It Is Believed That No Less Than Five Foreign Intelligence Agencies Successfully Hacked Into Clinton’s Illegal Insecure Server . . .” Super Duper Wrong

Key Members of the Justice Department Advised James Comey Not to Disclose His Bureau’s Second Review of Emails

Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, and Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates, were opposed to Comey’s announcement to Congress. Their reason was Comey’s deliberate decision to flout longtime procedure and comment publicly about a politically sensitive investigation within 60 days of a major election.

So What Would Have Happened If The FBI Had Actually Found Something?

Not much. Considering the emails weren’t in Clinton’s possession, there’s not a ton that the FBI could do except throw shade. Mission accomplished on that front fellas.

The Whole Argument About an ‘Investigation’ Being Re-Opened Is False

Republicans and Clinton haters of all shapes and sizes like to mention that the FBI “investigation” into Hillary Clinton was “re-opened” after discovery of the new batch of emails. It’s a semantics-based argument honestly. Technically, investigations into Clinton’s shady dealings were never really declared closed. She’s a prominent public figure, so every agency keeps an active file on her. However, the new batch of emails drew attention to her already open case, meaning that . . . okay, her case was kind of re-opened.

Clinton Claimed that James Comey Sent Word of the Announcement to Republican House Leaders First . . . Completely Incorrect

When She Was Acquitted For a Second Time, Trump Questioned the FBI’s Ability to Check 650,000 Emails in Eight Days

Thanks to the beauty of things called computers (which Mr. Trump refers to as the Twitter machines), it’s absolutely possible to use automated search and filtering tools to search a lot of emails in a relatively short amount of time. Honestly the computers wouldn’t even have to be that good.

Could the Emails Lose Clinton the Election?

It’s possible. Though Clinton maintains a lead on the national level, when it comes to winning the Presidential election, it’s all about votes in the Electoral College. In the wake of the FBI’s announcement that it was re-investigating Clinton, the races in five battleground states turned in favor of Trump.