Hillary Clinton Email Scandal Case Closed: Attorney General Lynch Won’t Pursue Charges

It’s official: Hillary Clinton’s email scandal case is closed. The presumptive Democratic nominee will not be facing criminal charges for sending classified government emails over a personal email server during her time as secretary of State. The email scandal has dogged Hillary Clinton for a year now, and it has loomed large over her presidential aspirations for the duration of her career. Just this week, the FBI announced that while Clinton had been “reckless,” she hadn’t committed a crime.

Loretta Lynch Will Follow F.B.I.'s Lead in Possible Clinton Indictment https://t.co/n0UUj6dcA8 #politics pic.twitter.com/4xl34oG54C

— AlgoPolitics (@AlgoPolitic) July 1, 2016

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced on Wednesday that she was following the advice of the FBI and declining to pursue criminal charges against the current presumptive Democratic nominee and former secretary of State. This means that, at least criminally, the Hillary Clinton email case is over and done with.

“Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email system during her time as secretary of state. I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation.”

Not surprisingly, the Hillary Clinton campaign wasted no time publicly embracing the news that the email scandal is now dead and put to rest, reports CNN.

With the AG accepting Director Comey's recommendation, this case is resolved, no matter Republicans' attempts to continue playing politics

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) July 6, 2016

The U.S. attorney general made her big Hillary Clinton email case announcement just one day after FBI Director Comey gave a news conference to announce that he wouldn’t be recommending criminal charges against Hillary. Despite not recommending criminal charges, the FBI director did say that her use of a private email server to handle classified emails was”extremely careless.”

He also contradicted Hillary Clinton’s claims asserting that she had never received or sent classified information over the disputed, private email server. Clinton has said, since the email scandal broke, that any classified documents she sent over the private server were “retroactively classified.” She has always asserted that she never sent any classified information, despite the email scandal that has dogged her career and campaign for a year.

“Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”

Republicans have largely been very dissatisfied with Comey’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton as a result of her email scandal and their findings. They have been very vocal in their irritation, especially in the midst of a highly contentious presidential election season. Republican legislators are so angry about the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal, the subsequent investigation, and final decision not to charge Clinton that they have formed a special House committee and set up a hearing for Comey on Thursday.

how is anyone supposed to believe in this country after this? How?

— bad nana (@cyclone_cowgirl) July 6, 2016

@opednews the FBI is a joke to the above the law Hillary and Clinton gang

— DanielFord (@1UBeExcellent) July 6, 2016

Name one person who's outraged that there will be no Clinton indictment that didn't already hate her and I'll give you a million dollars.

— Desi (@DesiJed) July 5, 2016

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has also been under the microscope. Last week, she met privately with former President Bill Clinton at an airport in Phoenix. The meeting was sans reporters and recording devices, and it had many people on the right calling foul.

It’s also worth noting that there have been reports that Attorney General Lynch will retain her position as part of the Hillary Clinton administration, should Hillary win in November. At least according to a report by the Daily Caller.

Lynch’s decision and announcement spells the official end to Hillary Clinton’s email scandal-related legal concerns. It doesn’t, however, bring an end to the political drama.

Why was Bill Clinton in Phoenix the day he met with Lynch? https://t.co/Jmn2gIQbhf pic.twitter.com/cWo6Ixfr6d

— CNN (@CNN) July 1, 2016

Many Republicans have used the decision not to prosecute Clinton over the email scandal to fire up the conservative base. Among those Republicans is Donald Trump, who has (not surprisingly) brought the decision not to prosecute Clinton into his campaign rallies. Much in the same way that he brought the “guarantee” that Clinton would end up in prison over her email scandal into his earlier campaign speeches.

“Whats going on is very big… for Bill Clinton to go to the plane, then to have what happened… Everybody thought based on what was being said she was guilty. She was guilty. And it turned out that, ‘We’re not going to press charges.’ It’s really amazing.”

So far, Clinton’s biggest left-wing political rival, Bernie Sanders, has declined to comment on the decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over the email scandal. Many had speculated that one of the reasons he’s refused to drop out of the Democratic race is that he was waiting for Hillary to be indicted over the emails. Indeed, Real Clear Politics quoted Donald Trump as supporting that theory.

What do you think? Did the FBI and/or U.S. attorney general drop the ball? Did they get it right? Should Hillary Clinton be let off the legal hook for her email scandal?

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]