FBI director James Comey announced back in the beginning of July that he would not charge Hillary Clinton in regards to her handling classified data on her unauthorized private server. This has angered a lot of people and propagated a view that the rich and powerful are not held responsible for their actions. It seems we do not play on an equal field. Justice is not blind.
To warrant a criminal charge, Mr. Comey said, there had to be evidence
that Mrs. Clinton intentionally transmitted or willfully mishandled
classified information. The F.B.I. found neither, and as a result, he
said, “our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a
case.” (source)
Two big things changed when Comey made this determination and announcement. First, the FBI was significantly damaged in reputation as an institution. Whether or not Comey made the decision based on political pressure doesn't matter. Most people thought it was a tainted finding. Now the public's perception of the FBI is damaged and may never be fixed.
The second thing that changed, and one that I have not heard anywhere, but is equally significant is our future ability to prosecute people for espionage. Per the reasoning Comey presented for not trying Hillary the precedent has been set that it must be shown that someone willfully mishandled classified information. That is a very high bar of proof to meet.
It means that any spy just needs to ensure they do not create any trail of willful intent and they will be fine. In fact based on that standard the FBI would have a hard time convicting Edward Snowden.
So political shill or not, Comey has irrevocably damaged our nations institutions, public faith, and ability to counter espionage. He needs to have his tenure ended in disgrace.
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