How State Department IG's Report On Clinton's Emails Could Lead To Joe Biden Becoming Democratic Nominee

How State Department IG's Report On Clinton's Emails Could Lead To Joe Biden Becoming Democratic Nominee





Steve Forbes ,  FORBES STAFF 
“With all thy getting, get understanding."  


Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (Photographer: Sean Proctor/Bloomberg)

THE THOROUGH and devastating report by the State Department’s Inspector General concerning Hillary Clinton’s emails has blasted away all the former Secretary of State’s excuses and rationales. For instance, Clinton never received legal permission of any sort for what she did. She knowingly jeopardized national security. She and her aides tried to stonewall the investigation. By the way, the IG was appointed by President Obama, so Clinton can’t claim these findings were politically motivated by a GOP holdover.

Other officials have faced serious charges for offenses far less serious.

The Clinton campaign is counting on public indifference and confusion to blunt any lasting fallout. Unstated also is perhaps the belief that the egregiously politicized Obama Justice Department will make sure the ongoing FBI investigation ends up going nowhere, with, at worst, a homogenized finding of unintentional carelessness.


But the ex-Secretary and her spinners may be overlooking the train of consequences that the IG has set in motion: The IG has exposed the sordid mess, so how can the Justice Department now do anything less without exposing itself to the unavoidable charge of shilling and engaging in an effective cover-up for the presumed Democratic presidential nominee? The IG’s unassailable findings could well force Justice’s hand in a way the Clinton campaign hasn’t calculated. The more conspiratorial-minded Clintonians might also ponder the leak of the investigation of Governor Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, a man long close to Bill and Hillary. Why the leak now?

Could Hillary Clinton’s nomination be derailed at this late date, considering her overwhelming lead in delegates and primary popular vote totals?

Indeed, it could.


There is a clause in Democratic rules that allows delegates for reasons of overwhelming conscience to not vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged.

Would this mean that Bernie Sanders could still get the nomination? Hardly.

Few democrats believe this self-avowed socialist could actually beat Donald Trump in the general election. As displayed in Sander’s New York Daily News editorial board interview conducted on the eve of the New York primary, the man is remarkably ignorant, despite all his years in the House and Senate. Donald Trump would make mincemeat of him.

Which leads to a once-unimaginable scenario: Democrats turning to Vice President Joe Biden to save them from certain defeat. While faithfully serving President Obama, Biden is seen as a statesman who could lower today’s feverish political temperature. He is regarded as an individual who could cut deals on Capitol Hill and get things done. To bolster his candidacy, he could hint that he would serve only one term.

Super delegates would certainly flock to him. With that conscience rule, so could a large number of Clinton delegates–enough to put him over the top.

Of course, under such circumstances Bernie Sanders might be tempted to bolt from his new party and run as an independent, particularly if Biden didn’t choose him or Elizabeth Warren as a running mate. But desperate Democrats might figure most of their party would stick with the VP, who might make up for defections with support from independents and disaffected Republicans.

Could Biden actually defeat Trump? Democrats may come to the conclusion that he’d have a better chance than either Clinton or Sanders.

Is all of this too far-fetched? Perhaps. But nothing during this presidential election cycle has gone according to script.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2016/05/31/how-state-department-igs-report-on-clintons-emails-could-lead-to-joe-biden-becoming-democratic-nominee/#61406b4e55f4