All a Big Fix?

Several years before I retired, I was working as a middle manager police lieutenant and had the good fortune to be mentored by a self-effacing, politically astute police executive. At the time the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was breaking and one day after the report that the semen on the black dress was Bill Clinton's, I went into his office and said something to the effect of, "Oh my god, they've got him." The President of the United States was caught lying to the Nation, and to his family. Monica was the target of character assassination. Now the truth came out. Bill was the liar. He had oral sex in the White House with an intern. An unspeakable violation of trust.

When this came out I thought of Monica and her family, actually her father. How if I were him, I'd be enraged and probably would get locked up trying to get to the White House to kick Bill Clinton's ass for allowing the infatuation of a naïve young girl to go way beyond the limits of propriety. If he was any kind of decent man he would have simply told whoever was in charge of the interns to handle the situation--to tell Monica her infatuation was improper and to maybe have her assigned so that she would never have access to the President. But he didn't. Like a weasel he took advantage.

Anyway, my mentor took a drag on his cigarette and calmly said "Joe, nothing's gonna happen to him." I said, "No, c'mon are you kidding, this is the President, supposed to be beyond reproach, acting like an over- sexed lounge lizard."

Anyway, it turns out my mentor was absolutely correct. Really, nothing did happen to Bill. Sure, he had his law license suspended in Arkansas and he was impeached--for perjury (felony) and obstruction of Justice (felony) which included charges initiated relative to his testimony in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. But remarkably, he was acquitted of the charges.

Deja Vu all over again. Ms. Clinton, was caught dead lying to the FBI about her violation of her agreement on how to handle emails, to include mishandling secret documents, using a private server, about handing over documents, etc, etc. Ask Dennis Hastert what happens when you lie to the FBI. Well, if you're not Ms. Clinton that is.

But beyond all that is a matter that's been really overlooked. That matter is a simple administrative one. If you have a clearance and are reckless with handling classified material entrusted to you, you will rightfully lose your clearance and hence, your access to classified material. And if a President can't access or be given briefings on classified matters he/she becomes wholly ineffective.

So it naturally follows that if Ms. Clinton loses her clearance, she cannot be President. Simple.

David French, an attorney and writer for the National Review, who is a veteran of Iraq, posits that were she a soldier caught doing the same thing the military would convene several actions-- administrative and potentially criminal-- that would ultimately have the following result: "The negotiated process of handling the various charges would certainly end the officer's career, as well as a permanent ban on access to classified information. "...and that would be a merciful outcome considering the gravity of the officer's offense."

So originally after the FBI whitewash, there was talk of a movement to have her clearance pulled. There is supposedly a bill in Congress and many recommendations including those of the FBI director that she lose her clearance. But all this is buried in the glow of the Convention as the Democrat elite perform their "runway" walk as the Republicans did last week. Yes, this "Oh my god, they've got her" moment seems to be a tsunami that has turned into a gentle tide pool. I can see my mentor now, taking a long drag on his cigarette and with a knowing smile saying "nothing will happen to her."

The suggestion of course is that it's all arranged that way, (see Wall Street, see establishment fear of Trump, see Clinton Foundation,).

I never learn.