Earl Ofari Hutchinson
There was no issue that drew more press and public chatter during the 2016 presidential election than Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton’s use or rathe alleged misuse of her government email server. There was no issue during that election that tainted Clinton and gave Trump endless ammunition to brand her as “crooked Hillary.”
There was no issue during that election that jaded much of the public toward her and caused her to slide down in the polls the week before the election than the wild rumors and allegation that she had unlawfully used her government email server.
The one man above all others who could take full credit for Clinton’s ultimate demise was then FBI director James Comey. Here is the sequence of hideous events for Clinton. In May,2016 as the race began to take shape, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General released a report about the State Department’s email practices. It pointed the finger squarely at Clinton for possible email misuse.
Enter Comey. Two months later in July with the election heating up he publicly announced that he was looking hard at Clinton’s possible illegal email use. He called her action “extremely careless.” He did not recommend any criminal action against her. But his careless charge did much to reinforce that growing public perception that Clinton was at the least shady, and unethical and at worse the crook that Trump tarred her as.
Then there was the clincher. On October 28, 2016, with only eleven days until the election, Comey dropped his October surprise. He publicly announced that he told Congress the FBI was looking hard at Clinton’s dubious use of emails. That was based purportedly on newly discovered emails.
The timing stunk to high heaven. The predictable happened. Clinton nosed down in the polls. More voters than ever now believed that Clinton was the crook that Trump claimed she was.
The sordid postscript to this blatant political dealing by Comey on behalf of Trump was that a day after the election were no charges filed against Clinton. The uproar could be heard across the Potomac.
Comey was rightfully blasted as being a nakedly partisan political water carrier for Trump in helping him win with his Hillary tease of wrongdoing. Clinton flatly charged that the Comey’s smear was the prime reason Trump won, and she lost. She had a point.
Now how did Trump repay Comey for putting him in the presidential history book. He pilloried, harangued, and hectored Comey. Then once back in office he arm twisted the DOJ to indict him.
Comey is the latest to learn the bitter lesson. Buck Trump in any way and no matter what you may have done for him this is how you’ll get repaid.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His latest book is Trump for Sale (Middle Passage Press) He is the publisher of thehutchinsonreport.net