Hillary Clinton said she put “personal convenience” over national security when she used a private email account to send official government emails while she served as Secretary of State. What Hillary wants more than anything is to be the first female President of the United States. But how can the American people trust someone to hold the highest office in the land, when she is more concerned about what’s good for her personally, and then hides from public scrutiny when it comes to what’s good for the nation?
Following a women’s rights speech she gave, Hillary held a press conference at the United Nations where she unapologetically lectured reporters on her email controversy. She kept repeating the talking point that it was easier to use “one device” for both her personal and official emails. Never mind her spokesperson said last month Hillary abandoned her "one device" rule, and began using both an iPhone and a Blackberry. I guess as a 2016 pre-presidential candidate-in-waiting, who is no longer a Secretary of State, she doesn't have anything to hide anymore.
What she really meant was that by not using a government email account -- which records and archives every single email -- Hillary controlled what she wanted the public to see and not see.
She reminded the press corps: “The laws and regulations in effect when I was Secretary of State allowed me to use my email for work. That is undisputed.” But the problem is, of the 60,000 emails she claims she sent, Hillary was the arbiter defining which emails were personal and which ones were professional. Recalling to the press that of the voluminous amount of emails she sent while Secretary of State, she determined about half were official State Department business. Continuing, she testily added the public didn’t need to see personal emails about her planning Chelsea’s wedding or those shared with her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
Making her actions look even more suspicious, Hillary stated emphatically that again that she determined which emails were personal, and it took it upon herself to delete them. And oh, by the way, the private server owned by the Clintons and used to store her email account in her Chappaqua, New York home, “would remain private.” The more Hillary talked, the more messy and suspicious the episode looked, and the more questions were left unanswered.
For instance, how is anyone to know there were only 60,000 emails without examining the private server? Why use a private server you own instead of a commercial provider like Google or Yahoo or the government’s email, unless you’re trying to hide something? Did Hillary delete emails about Benghazi or other national security issues because they incriminated her -- or even just made her look bad?
Despite her assertions that Secret Service agents physically guarded the server, how do we know foreign governments like North Korea, Russia or Iran didn’t hack it? The American people are to believe she never emailed Bill Clinton about national security issues?
“I fully complied with every rule I was governed by,” Hillary declared. (i.e. Take my word for it!)
Really? For a person who alleged during her husband’s presidency there was a “right wing conspiracy” out to destroy Bill, Hillary wants the American people to trust her judgment. That’s the problem in a nutshell, Hillary is the judge and the jury when it comes to determining which of the thousands of emails she sent while Secretary of State are “official” -- outside the purview of any independent authority.
During her roughly 17-minute press conference, Hillary seemed annoyed and angry she had to even bother answering questions about her actions publicly: something as president she would be forced to do with regularity. (Although, President Barack Obama -- who promised transparency -- set a new precedent when it comes to secrecy and spin.) It appears Hillary knew in 2009 when she became Secretary of State that she planned to run for president again and she used a private email account she controlled. Why? Because she didn’t want any emails, official or not, getting in the way of her trying making history in 2016.
Looking clumsy at times in this news conference, as she frequently glanced down to read talking points, seething with agitation, Hillary left no doubt about one thing. She is ruthless. As a Clinton, she feels entitled to hover above the rules of law to grow her political puissance by any means necessary. Her message to Americans, the Democrat Party and everyone else is “Deal with it!” Democrats should ask themselves are they really “Ready for Hillary?” I know the rest of us don’t want anything to do with her.