Former FBI Director James
Comey is taking criticism for changing the language between an early
draft and the final copy of his statement on ending the Hillary Clinton
email investigation.
Newly reported memos show Comey originally accused the former secretary
of state of being “grossly negligent” in handling classified information
in a draft dated May 2, 2016. But that was modified to claim that
Clinton had been “extremely careless” in a draft dated June 10, 2016.
Federal law states that gross negligence in handling the nation’s
intelligence can be punished criminally with prison time or fines,
according to The Hill.
On "Fox & Friends," Judge Andrew Napolitano said “grossly negligent” and
“extremely careless” have the same meaning.
"James Comey thought he could pull a fast one on the American people by
using a slightly less offensive sounding term - 'extremely careless' -
and thereby exonerate her," Napolitano said. "But legally, it's the same
thing."
He noted that Clinton continued to use a private, unsecured email
server, even though she knew that would make state secrets available for
people to hack - and that they were hacked.
Napolitano said that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley
(R-IA) is seeking more details about the language modification in
Comey’s decision, such as who actually went into the draft and made the
red-line edits.
"Here's what's in Senator Grassley's mind and in the minds of a lot of
us looking at this: Why? Why did he, if I may, fudge the standard in
order to let Hillary off the hook?" Napolitano said.
He echoed a statement he made yesterday, calling on Attorney General
Jeff Sessions to pick up where the FBI left off in the Clinton email
investigation |
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