Of course she did, you might think to yourself -- as the whole country seems to have become inured to the breathtaking insanity of this entire election cycle. But as Rich Lowry says, none of this is normal. USA Today is reporting that Attorney General Loretta Lynch urged FBI Director James Comey to suppress the fact that the bureau has effectively re-opened its probe into Hillary Clinton's email scandal after new potentially "pertinent" evidence was discovered in the course of a separate investigation into Anthony Weiner's sexting woes. Weiner is married to Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin. This politically-motivated pressure gives off a strong whiff of, well, rigging:
#BREAKING Attorney General Lynch objected to the FBI director's decision to notify Congress about new Clinton emails https://t.co/rjVUTCWL90
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 29, 2016
CNN's Phil Mattingly notes that Lynch's opinion was (correctly) considered "politically tainted" by investigators, who ignored her partisan pleading:
To be clear - Comey can do whatever he wants, but Lynch was considered so politically tainted that there were no grounds to try & intervene
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) October 29, 2016
As a reminder, Loretta Lynch's boss has prominently endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, and put his thumb on the scale of public opinion while the FBI's original investigation was still underway. She is reportedly under consideration to retain her powerful job under a Clinton presidency. And she infamously held a secretive tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton during the final stages of the Bureau's criminal probe -- a move so foolish that even many Democrats objected to it. Now, she's apparently attempted to intervene against transparency, covering for Hillary in the home stretch of an election. She looks like a partisan actor, not a law enforcement officer. If FBI officials consider her too politically 'tainted' to fulfill her duties in accordance with the law, she should resign. It's important to reiterate that we don't yet know what the new emails may entail, although the fact that there are thousands of them to review is astonishing. Might they further prove some sort of criminal intent or cover-up? Might they contain more classified material? Might they reveal untruths told to the FBI? Might they contain nothing of real value? It's unclear. Although it seems highly unlikely that Comey would poke this hornet's nest -- of which he seemed so eager to wash his hands -- for no good reason. Meanwhile, many of the liberals and Democrats who've been solemnly invoking the FBI's controversial "no charges" conclusion since July are suddenly indulging in wild smears and conspiracy theories about Comey and his agency. Here's just one pathetic example:
Howard Dean: 'Comey Put Himself on the Same Side as Putin' https://t.co/Ze6biJdZXo pic.twitter.com/SGBaZbgn1h
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) October 29, 2016
I have extended a lot of leeway to Democrats who've responded to Wikileaks revelations by angrily denouncing Russia's obvious efforts to influence our election. If the Kremlin were actively working to sabotage a Republican ticket and elect the Democrats, conservatives would rightfully be screaming bloody murder. But to impugn Comey and the FBI as little more than stooges for Moscow because they're doing their jobs in connection with Hillary Clinton's egregious misconduct (that very likely benefited Russian intelligence, by the way) is outrageous. I'll leave you with several responses to the Left's absurd, parsed objections to categorizing Hillary Clinton as "under investigation" or calling the probe "re-opened:"
Sorry, but when the FBI says it is taking "investigative steps" that is --uh--an investigation". But nice try. https://t.co/h3uRGaDiC3
— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) October 29, 2016
Okay, FBI investigation into nat'l security-endangering, improper email scheme she erected & lied about has been reactivated. Better? ?? https://t.co/NV6djRjLnh
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 28, 2016
MM on 9/28: "now-closed FBI investigation” https://t.co/WHdi5Umj5g
— michaelscherer (@michaelscherer) October 28, 2016
Comey announces more investigation 10/28.
MM now: Don’t say “reopened” https://t.co/3XCXnsgVVC
Oh, and when Hillary claimed that Comey only sent his letter to Congressional Republicans -- in an cynical attempt to make him look like a one-sided partisan -- she lied. In fairness, in light of these fresh swing state headlines, Democrats are understandably rattled:
The Clinton email news leads almost every single one of the big swing state papers this morning ... pic.twitter.com/t3rEOwHNmM
— Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) October 29, 2016
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