OPINION:
There are moments in history when the fate of nations lies at the mercy of the integrity of a single person. We’re at such a moment now, and growing numbers of Americans are beginning to realize that. Hillary Clinton, who more than half of the people answering the pollsters say they do not think is honest and trustworthy, violated the rules by running her official business through a personal email server.
The polls reveal that the public is weary of the whole snarled subject. The details sound complicated to the many, often frustrated personally with computers and servers and such. The Clintons, Bill and Hillary, have escaped punishment for their misdeeds in the past, and this darkening cloud could eventually disappear, too. The Clintons, who have often behaved like what their Southern kith and kin call “white trash,” are relying on forgetfulness and their fanatically loyal fans, and even their notoriety, to save them one more time.
Hillary’s violation of security rules at the State Department may be the most serious Clinton offense yet. If it stands unpunished it will set a dangerous precedent. Common sense says that any message to or from the secretary of state is serious business, important to both friend and foe. That’s why there are hard rules protecting such information in the first place.
The thousands of emails tumbling out of Hillary’s server, usually on a Friday night as the government — and the media — is closing down for the week, defy swift and careful examination. To add to the helpful confusion, it seems clear to everyone that Hillary Clinton broke the law.
The question of how serious it is will be answered eventually, and maybe sooner than later, such as in the midst of the presidential campaign of 2016. The additional question is whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation, charged with examining the facts, refers it to the U.S. attorney general for prosecution. Another question is whether Loretta E. Lynch, the attorney general and one of Barack Obama’s closest advisers, will send her recommendation to prosecute to the White House. Her own reputation for integrity will hang in the balance.
FBI Director James B. Comey has evidence already that Mrs. Clinton crossed several “red lines” meant to warn her that she was substituting her own interests for those of the nation. Mr. Comey, like Loretta Lynch, is rapidly approaching the hour when he must find the right thing and do it. Mr. Comey, a Republican, was appointed by the attorney general in 2013 to a 10-year term as director of the FBI. He was selected despite his plainly expressed opinion that the Black Lives Matter movement, with its special resonance in the media, was intimidating law enforcement.
Mr. Comey has a reputation for impeccable integrity, built on forthrightness and courage in pursuit of justice when he was a deputy U.S. attorney general in Chicago and New York. He prosecuted Republicans and took on President George W. Bush’s wire-tapping at the National Security Agency. His defense of his boss, the attorney general at the time, John Ashcroft, was rightly considered brave politics. That characteristic will soon meet the ultimate test.
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