Hillary Clinton Neither Deleted nor Asked Anyone to Delete Her Email to Avoid Complying

So the FBI released Hillary's email files.

"Key from FBI summary: HRC "never deleted, nor did she instruct anyone to delete, her e-mail to avoid complying..."

https://twitter.com/albamonica/status/771777024759328769

So that should be egg on the face of those who have been claiming that she deleted 30,000 emails to avoid compliance. Of course, this is the Beltway media.

Some things are scandals, some things aren't. The media goes into full tilt about a Clinton Foundation story that shows nothing untoward happened. Someone from the CF asked for a special passport and didn't receive it.

Yet some are treating this as a scandal. On the other hand, there is the fact that Patti Bondi who spoke for Trump at the convention was the Florida AG back in 2013 whose office was looking into complaints by Florida residents that they'd been scammed by Trump U.

While the investigation was ongoing, Ms. Bondi actually solicited and received a major campaign donation from Donald Trump.

Paul Waldman:
"Now let me point you to another story, one you probably haven’t heard about. "
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/09/02/heres-a-tale-of-two-scandals-guess-which-one-will-get-more-play/?utm_term=.22df6b8b832d

You haven't heard about it because it's not about Hillary Clinton but her opponent. If you're Hillary Clinton's opponent, the media gives you a pass on such things.

"Yesterday we learned that Donald Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty over a contribution his foundation made to a PAC affiliated with Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, whom you might remember from the Republican convention, where she gave a rousing speech endorsing Trump. Does this story “raise questions”? Does it ever."

"Here’s the quick summary: In 2013, Bondi’s office received multiple complaints from Floridians who said they had been cheated out of thousands of dollars by a fraudulent operation called Trump University. While Bondi’s office was looking into the claims to determine if they should join New York State’s lawsuit against Trump University, Bondi called Donald Trump and asked him for a contribution to her PAC."

"Now let’s pause for a moment to savor the idea that Bondi, the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the state, would solicit a contribution from someone her office was in the process of investigating. She did solicit that contribution, and Donald Trump came through with $25,000."

"Or actually, his foundation paid Bondi’s PAC the $25,000, which is an illegal contribution. Trump’s people say this was just a clerical error, and Trump himself reimbursed the foundation — that’s what the IRS fine was about. But days before getting the check, Bondi’s office announced that they were considering whether to go after Trump University, and not long after the check was cashed, they decided to drop the whole thing."

Just a clerical error. Well fine then. Trump said it's just a clerical era, so what's there to see? That's not obvious nonsense like Hilary saying she wants two phones for convenience. I mean-obvious. We can't take an excuse of convenience at face value but can take Trump's claim of a clerical error-an excuse he's used for a number of tax breaks he's taken as well-at face value.

So this story of where Trump had to pay a $2,500 dollar fine for a contribution to pay off someone investigating him is barely a blip on the media landscape. The fact that someone who worked at the CF asked and didn't receive a special passport? Constitutional crisis if there ever was one.

So what's going on? The Clinton Rules. More generally, as Eric Boehlert chronicles the media is asymmetric in the way it treats both parties.

"whatever half-assed claims GOP comes up with, press rushes it into print. it gets debunked. press does same thing 28 more times.

https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/771778771460370433

"at NO POINT does anyone in press turn around say, 'the real story is that GOP just keeps making bullshit, hollow allegations'"

https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/771778976108810240

That's something you notice. The media never charges the GOP any penalty for repeatedly crying wolf.

Why? Concerns over access:

"b/c that means their sources for bullshit GO allegations would dry up. and the content, the 'scoop', is more important that whether its true"

https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/771779239209119744

"KEY POINT: this dynamic categorically does not exist for DC press and Dems. if Dems make hollow charge, the press buries them in contempt."

https://twitter.com/EricBoehlert/status/771779489026019328

In other news. Karen Tumulty has a very good piece about the history of Clinton hunting on the Right.

Even Ms. Tumulty seems to feel that the Clinton's have a 'penchant for secrecy' that hasn't been proved.

Like the fact that Hillary didn't want to respond to a Washington Post request for information about Whitewater in 1993 shows a 'penchant for secrecy.'

So when someone accuses you of terrible and false things it's on you to quickly deliver whatever they ask?

This ignores that if someone, say, falsely accuses you of being a child molester it's degrading for you to be forced to prove the negative publicly. To simply hand over whatever info your accuser is demanding even though it has no merit.

Whitewater proved to have no merit. Yet, supposedly the Clintons were wrong for not being more cooperative with those making these false allegations.