When James Comey concludes his FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email affairs he will have to decide whether or not to turn the case over to the Justice Department for prosecution. Assuming he does so, the ball will be in Loretta Lynch’s court as to whether or not to move forward and it will fall to some group of legal beagles in that department as to how it’s handled. With that in mind, Secretary Clinton must be finding some reason to be hopeful in the fact that plenty of the people in the Department of Justice are donors to her presidential campaign. (Washington Free Beacon)
Hillary Clinton has received nearly $75,000 in political contributions from employees at the Department of Justice, the agency that would decide whether or not to act if the FBI recommended charges against Clinton or her aides following its investigation into her private email server.
Justice Department employees have given Clinton far more money than her rivals, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Donald Trump, according to a review of federal campaign contributions for the 2016 presidential cycle.
Clinton collected $73,437 from individuals who listed the “Department of Justice” as their employer. Twelve of the 228 contributions were for $2,700, the maximum individual amount allowed by law.
As to Clinton’s specific donors, we’re not talking about a random group of drones who are making copies and fetching donuts. On the list we find people such as Joshua Geltzer whose occupation turns out to be, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Department of Justice. Miriam Vogel – another $2,700 donor – is employed as Senior Counsel to Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole. Brian Boynton punches the clock at the Deputy Assistant Attorney General Office of Legal Counsel and was also able to afford a maximum legal contribution to Hillary Clinton. Oh, and here’s a red letter name for you: Renata Hesse is the Principle Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal and Civil Operations. The list goes on from there at great length.
In addition to the 228 Justice Department workers who donated to Clinton, another 51 employees donated to Bernie Sanders. By way of comparison, the list of their colleagues who contributed to Donald Trump totals… two.
Small wonder then that David Bossie, president of Citizens United, is calling yet again for a special counsel to handle Clinton’s case.
“I’m not surprised in the least to see more evidence that shows the politicization of the Justice Department,” Bossie said in a statement to the Free Beacon. “How can Democrat political appointees fairly investigate someone who is about to become their nominee for president? That’s why last July I called on Attorney General Lynch to appoint an impartial special counsel to investigate the private Clinton email server.”
So is this the group of “career independent law enforcement professionals” who Loretta Lynch said would be handling Clinton’s case if it’s dropped in her lap? If so, this process will be seen as little more than a joke.
Some might argue that these findings are reason to forbid Justice Department workers donating to political campaigns, but I would say just the opposite. These donations should not only be allowed, but broadcast to the public so they can be aware of precisely who is conducting the business of the people and where their loyalties are rooted. And as Citizens United has pointed out, if there isn’t an independent counsel appointed to handle the matter of Hillary Clinton’s secret email server, there is scant reason that anyone in the country should believe that justice is truly being served.
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