FBI Director: "extremely careless" but "no charges are appropriate" in Clinton's email investigation

FBI Director James Comey yesterday held a press conference to present his report on the investigation of the Clinton email system from her time as Secretary of State.

Comey gave a scathing rebuke -- saying that Clinton and her colleagues were "extremely careless" in handling sensitive information and that, even where emails were not marked classified, someone in her position should have known she was writing about sensitive material.

Nevertheless,  despite conservatives' hopes and predictions that she would wind up in jail,  Comey said that "We cannot find a case that would support bringing a criminal charge based on these facts."   He continued, saying this about other cases of mishandling of classified information that did merit prosecution:

"All the cases [that were] prosecuted involved some combination of clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information, or vast quantities of information exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct, or indications of disloyalty to the United States, or efforts to obstruct justice.

"We do not see those things here. . . .  We are expressing to [the Department of] Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case. . . .  our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case,"

This seems to be the end of any legal problems for Clinton in the so-called "email scandal."   That doesn't mean the political problems will end.   Republicans, and especially the Trump campaign, were quick to claim that the outcome "was rigged" and to claim that Clinton had endangered the security of our country and shouldn't be trusted to be president.

In all honesty, and Clinton herself now agrees, she should not have used the private server.   But did she endanger the country?   Perhaps we were lucky, but there is zero evidence that any harm was done.  The only evidence that she has ever risked our security was this private email server, and she certainly will not do the same thing as president.

Republicans, with their eight, multi-million-dollar investigations, have squeezed every ounce of juice they can out of the Benghazi tragedy;  and now Clinton is finally out from under the threat of "an FBI criminal investigation."   Let's move on with the campaign. 

Anyone who wants to claim that Hillary Clinton is not trustworthy should just consider the alternative being offered by the Republican Party.

Ralph