Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers have been on a slide for the past few weeks. Part of it could be the slow release of hacked emails turned over to and released by Wikileaks.
While the mainstream media has been loathe to release all the details, the effect has been that of a constant drip-drop of water on a stone wearing it away over a period of time. But it is seriously doubtful that these releases have captured the constant attention of the mainstream electorate. It is just too esoteric. But while the attention may not have been constant by the average voter, it has had an effect. Therefore, the slow slide of Clinton’s poll numbers.
We have now seen a game-changer. Not the release of hacked emails released by Wikileaks. Not charges by the RNC or the Trump campaign. Not the questions of Hillary Clinton’s health. This game-changer came from the FBI Director James Comey.
When Comey announced on July 5 that he would not recommend to the Attorney General’s office that the former Secretary of State be charged with the mishandling of classified information, Democrats hailed that decision as a complete exoneration.
In fact, Comey found that Clinton was “extremely careless in…handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.” However, he said “no charges are appropriate in this case.”
Comey made it clear that politics played no role in the agency’s decision not to recommend charges. He said, “Opinions are irrelevant, and they were all uninformed by insight into our investigation, because we did the investigation the right way. Only facts matter, and the FBI found them here in an entirely apolitical and professional way.”
However, a separate sexting investigation involving ex-New York Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner turned up Clinton-related emails. An analysis of the metadata on Weiner’s computer has turned up “positive hits for state.gov and HRC emails.” Those emails are said to number into the hundreds-of-thousands.
Over the past weekend, the FBI obtained a warrant to begin reviewing new emails potentially tied to the Clinton case. This reflected his commitment under oath to Congress to review “any new and substantial information.”
While Democrats praised Director Comey in July as “doing the right thing,” being the “epitome of… a public servant,” and being a “great man” (Nancy Pelosi), he is now being vilified as “appalling,” “partisan,” “irresponsible,” and creating a “big, stinking mess.”
This new investigation is above and beyond that which concluded in July. It is new information that calls into question whether or not Hillary Clinton intentionally allowed highly classified information to be handled carelessly.
Like it or not, Hillary Clinton is now the one of the points of focus in an intensive investigation during these last days before the 2016 general election. It calls into question her ethics, her judgment or lack thereof, and her frank honesty. Apparently it will not be concluded before the election on November 8th. Will this latest scandal have an impact on her chances to ascend to the White House? The impact cannot help her.
