Hillary Clinton Is Under Investigation By The FBI For More Than E-Mail: If Elected, Could She Be Impeached?

Hillary Clinton is under investigation. The intensive FBI probe has expanded to include potential obstruction of justice if any sensitive email has been withheld or destroyed. Also under FBI investigation are gifts and payments received by Hillary on behalf of the Clinton Foundation. Other charges could also come out as the probe broadens.

Hillary Clinton, while under investigation by the FBI, must be treated with impartiality and held accountable for any wrongdoing. James Conway, the managing director of Global Intel Strategies and a former FBI agent, told RT the FBI will continue to go after her regardless of her government position until they are satisfied the investigation is complete.

Mr. Conway is confident in the impartiality of the agency.

“It is immaterial whether it is the First Lady, or it is the lady down the street, or it is the mayor of a city – it doesn’t matter. The FBI has a long history of enforcing the law. And sometimes people who are subjects of those investigations happen to be high-level political officials. So, it has happened a number of times.”

Hillary Clinton, under investigation as a presidential candidate, is a far more sensitive situation than any previous case since Nixon. Should she win the election while the FBI is investigating and then be indicted or convicted of real crimes, it could have a strong impact on a nation already suffering an economic crisis. Historically speaking, Nixon’s resignation in the midst of impeachment seriously impacted both the economy and the public’s trust in the government. How might a serious impeachment proceeding or arrest of a sitting president impact the U.S. at this time when there is already a lot of social unrest over economic disparity?

FBI director James Comey told NBC News his agency is not placing a priority on the convention or the election dates as deadlines for the investigation. The FBI is focused on having a thorough investigation, not a quick one.

“We aspire to do all our investigations in two ways — well and promptly, especially investigations that are of great interest to the public. We want to do them promptly. I get that people care about this investigation, and so we’re working very hard to ensure it’s well and promptly. But as between the two, if we have to choose, we will do it well. But again we aspire to do it well and promptly.”

Hillary Clinton is under investigation because she used a private server email account while serving as Secretary of State. The FBI is investigating whether Hillary used that email account for official and classified conversations and to determine the nature of emails she had attempted to delete. Mr. Conway says using that server is problematic in this case.

“Hillary Clinton didn’t use a State Department closed email system […] Mrs. Clinton had her own public server and that is how she was communicating with her associates and others within the government. To me, that’s a clear problem.”

Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to provide her with a second account has not seemed very serious to the public or even to opposing candidates. In an age where most people have multiple email accounts, it is hard for most people to comprehend why it is important for Hillary to always use the government email when conducting official business. The FBI will look at that decision in a completely different way than most Americans.

Her motivation in using the private email and especially in deleting conversations is of paramount importance, according to the Atlantic. If the FBI investigation proves that Hillary made an effort to conceal or destroy any of those email messages because they were potentially incriminating or involving classified information, she could be indicted for obstruction of justice. At least some of the deleted correspondences from her hard drive have been recovered and their content is being analyzed by the FBI.

Hillary Clinton’s withholding of emails or any deletion of information looks potentially incriminating, according to Mr. Conway.

“She has been asked to provide all of that traffic and there have been instances during the course of the investigation that maybe she didn’t hand over all those documents, all of that email traffic. Could that be an obstruction of justice? Interesting to see. Were emails destroyed? That is a violation of the law in terms of destruction of evidence. So, there are a lot of problems here. I think there is a gross negligence of the handling of classified information that protects our national security.”

Hillary Clinton is also under investigation for receiving money. Hillary allegedly received $57 million in gifts for the Clinton Foundation while Secretary of State. This could be construed as bribery. Since it is not in the aspect of campaign financing, it would not be protected by laws allowing large donations from corporate sources for campaign finance. Mr. Conway explains.

“When I was an FBI agent and I worked overseas, I was not able to accept anything that had a value over 25 dollars… So, there is a big question about not only the handling of information but also the accepting of gifts. There has been anecdotal information that upwards of $57 million went into the coffers of the Clinton Foundation while Hillary was Secretary of State. So, that is something that the investigation will look at.”

Hillary Clinton is under investigation, for improper handling of sensitive email and receiving gifts for The Clinton Foundation. The FBI investigation could be long and arduous, and it could broaden over time. If the FBI finds wrongdoing on the part of Ms. Clinton before the nomination, it could hand the nomination to Bernie Sanders. If any negative conclusions arise prior to November, it could hand the presidency to Donald Trump. Beyond impacting the current election, this could impact the presidency itself should the investigative process be drawn out longer and should Ms. Clinton be elected President of the United States.

The Hillary Clinton FBI investigation could be very disruptive to the presidency if it continues for too long.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]