What could happen now that the FBI has reopened its investigation on Hillary Clinton?
Here are some thoughts on how the FBI reinvestigation could play out. It's not at all cut and dried at this point:
Will Barack Obama Delay Or Suspend The Election If Hillary Is Forced Out By The New FBI Email Investigation?, by Michael Snyder, October 29, 2016:
Just when it looked like Hillary Clinton was poised to win the 2016 election, the FBI has thrown a game changer into the mix. On Friday, FBI Director James Comey announced that his agency has discovered new emails related to Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information that they had not previously seen...
It is possible, but we also have to remember that government agencies (including the FBI) tend to move very, very slowly. If there are thousands of emails, it is going to take quite a while to sift through them all. And of course Barack Obama has lots of ways that he could influence, delay or even shut down the investigation.
So those that are counting on this to be the miracle that Donald Trump needs should not count their chickens before they hatch.
But if Hillary Clinton were to be forced out of the race by this FBI investigation, the Democrats would have to decide on a new candidate, and that would take time...
The following is from a U.S. News & World Report article that examined what would happen if one of the candidates was forced out of the race for some reason…
If Clinton were to fall off the ticket, Democratic National Committee members would gather to vote on a replacement...
But the party rules for replacing a presidential nominee merely specify that a majority of members must be present at a special meeting called by the committee chairman...
It would be extremely challenging to get a majority of the members of the Democratic National Committee together on such short notice. If Clinton were to drop out next week, it would be almost impossible for this to happen before election day.
In such a scenario, Barack Obama may attempt to invoke his emergency powers. Since the election would not be “fair” until the Democrats have a new candidate, he could try to delay or suspend the election. There would be a lot of controversy as to whether this is legal or not, but Barack Obama has not let the U.S. Constitution stop him in the past...
What if Hillary and the Establishment can't steal the election?, by Scott Mayer, October 29, 2016:
So what (for the establishment) could possibly be worse than a Trump presidency? I think it would be a Trump presidency with a clear mandate. Democrats are already crying foul about the timing of this investigation. Without any bombshell details, though, it will unlikely change many minds at this point. But that certainly wouldn't be the narrative if Trump were to win and win big.& The existence of this last-minute "partisan" investigation would be used to delegitimize Trump's presidency by claiming that the election was stolen or that he lacks a true mandate of the people.
Perhaps the reason for this surprise "investigation" (one that could end as the last one did following the election) is simply that Hillary and the establishment have conceded that they will be unable to steal this election and have moved on to the next best thing: attempting to steal Trump's mandate.
Intelligence expert: Is the FBI reopening of Clinton investigation a ploy?, Jim-Kouri, Conservative Base, October 29, 2016.
...What is key in the announcement is that the FBI didn’t appear to focus their investigation exclusively on the emails and the Clinton email server, but added the term related issues. According to former police detective Michael Snopes, this will be more difficult than the original case.
“Let’s not forget that the FBI gave out immunity like you give out candy on Halloween, so there’s little leverage they can use on Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, and other Clinton minions. In fact, the FBI actually voluntarily destroyed evidence when agents disposed of laptop computers belonging to the immunized Clinton staff,” said Snopes. “Could this be a ploy to enrage Hillary supporters to get out the vote for Clinton in November? Could this be plot to slowdown other negative news about the Clintons? I’ll believe the investigation is genuine when I see it,” Snopes added...
FBI Agents Revolt: Hillary to be Arrested?, Saboteur365, October 30, 2016.
There’s no way to know for sure if this conspiracy theory is grounded in reality. It makes a certain amount of sense and it could be true.
Lew Rockwell
Writes Graham Dugas:
Comey has an insurrection on his hands beyond the ability of anyone to control. These mutinous senior FBI agents have enough dirt to toss Obama, Comey, Hillary and others in jail. They also loathe the idea of being subjected to Clinton in the future as they know they will be forced to perpetrate more cover-ups and stain the bureau even more. They presented Comey and Obama with a choice… “give us Hillary’s head on a platter and we will be silent on Obama’s complicity in federal crimes [effectively a Nixon type pardon by omission of pursuit] and we will allow Comey to quietly be succeeded by a person of our choosing on an incoming Trump Administration.” OR ELSE THEY WILL GO PUBLIC.
Comey could have been silent until after the election no matter what they found on Weiner’s laptop because they already have seen ALL the emails including the deleted ones. The fact that Comey is taking this action indicates that his hand is being forced and that he [and Obama] have accepted the terms offered by the insurrectionists in exchange for the face saving terms offered.
This also dovetails with Assange saying his next batch [the FBI knows the contents of ALL of Podesta’s emails] will result in the arrest of Hillary. The FBI cannot weather another PR storm revealing them complicit in a cover-up. They also must be proactive and use Hillary’s arrest/indictment/forced withdrawal from the race as a lightning rod to quell a furious public by granting them their ‘pound of flesh’. No one likes Hillary, and don’t think that the Pentagon is going to silently sit still as one of their 4-Star generals get ramrodded for MUCH less than Hillary did. They are aligned with the insurrectionists at the FBI. Comey and Obama’s hand is being forced. Hillary is toast and going to jail. You will know this is true within a few days because the sheriff is about to slap the cuffs on Hillary. Weiner’s laptop is just a cover story.
Tancredo: Hillary Clinton Should Step Down to Avoid Constitutional Crisis, Breitbart, October 29, 2016:
What happens if Clinton wins the election and is then indicted on criminal charges prior to January 20? What happens if the FBI again fails to recommend criminal charges but the House of Representatives finds her in contempt of Congress and asks the Department of Justice to prosecute her for perjury? What happens if the Congress holds up all presidential appointments and all Democrat legislation until a nonpartisan Special Prosecutor is appointed?
The likelihood of a constitutional crisis grows each day that Clinton continues to lie about her classified emails and continues to avoid criminal penalties for her possible perjury. If Clinton wins the election and is sworn in as President, she can only be removed by impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate. If Democrats win majority control of the Senate on November 8, Clinton could defy the Congress and either refuse to appoint a Special Prosecutor or appoint someone who would rubber stamp her criminal behavior.
The patriotic thing for Hillary Clinton to do would be to step aside and let the DNC select Tim Kaine as the party’s presidential candidate. But since that would almost certainly lead to a tidal wave of support for Donald Trump, that will not happen. The national Democrat Party is not famous for its fidelity to constitutional norms...
In the Watergate scandal, Republicans in Congress put the truth and the rule of law above politics. Democrats do not behave that way; Democrats put politics above everything, including the Constitution. Besides, the Clintons have been here before and survived...
The national media will of course do its best to deflect public attention away from the new FBI criminal investigation. Indeed, that is already happening...
A constitutional crisis is not entirely avoided even if Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump on November 8. Let’s suppose President Trump asks newly appointed Attorney General Rudy Giuliani to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s misuse of a private email server.
A Democrat-controlled Senate could obstruct that investigation and threaten all kinds of retribution against the new President. Thus, in typical Washington fashion, a bipartisan deal would likely be struck to let Hillary off the hook—all in the name, of course, of saving taxpayer money.
A very real constitutional crisis has already occurred and it is ongoing — the transparent politicization of the FBI and the Department of Justice by the Obama team and the resulting loss of public confidence in those law enforcement institutions. Americans now have additional reasons to be wary of expanded federal powers.
The following is a rather detailed but informative article discussing the investigation.
James Comey’s Dereliction - Of course the Obama administration was not going to prosecute Hillary Clinton, by Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, October 24, 2016.
Here is a long, but pretty good analysis:
James Comey, Hillary Clinton, and the Email Investigation: A Guide for the Perplexed, by Jack Goldsmith, Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare, October 30, 2016.
Related articles
No Prison Time for Hillary If…, Wayne Allyn Root, Townhall, November 1, 2016.
Top 7 Charges Hillary Clinton Could Face While President, Breitbart, November 1, 2016.
Hillary’s Watergate?, Patrick J. Buchanan, VDare, November 2, 2016.
Would A Hillary Regime Be Presidency From Hell?, Patrick J. Buchanan, VDare, October 27, 2016.
Influence peddling, acting for Putin's ally, hiding classified secrets and sexting - how FIVE separate FBI cases are probing virtually every one of Clinton's inner circle and their families, DailyMail UK, November 1, 2016.