Unpacking the Apparent Trump-Hillary Double Standard: For Her, the FBI Helped Obstruct Its Own Investigation

RealClear Investigations Header

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch obtained evidence that a computer contractor working under the direction of Hillary Clinton’s legal team destroyed subpoenaed records that the former secretary of state stored on a private email server she originally kept at her New York home, and then lied to investigators about it. Yet no charges were brought against Clinton, her lawyers, or her paid consultant.

The leniency accorded to Clinton contrasts with recent moves by Attorney General Merrick Garland to aggressively investigate former President Trump and his lawyers for allegedly obstructing investigators’ efforts to locate subpoenaed records at his Florida home. Legal experts say the apparent double standard may provide a useful defense for Trump and his legal team.

The treatment of Clinton included a deal with her defense team that required the FBI to, in effect, obstruct its own investigation. During its 2016 probe, the bureau agreed with her lawyers’ demands to destroy two laptop hard drives containing subpoenaed evidence immediately after searching for files on them. They did so while the information was still being sought by congressional investigators and even though the lawyers had served under Clinton at the State Department and were subjects of the FBI’s investigation. In fact, the laptops were theirs.

Long before it bowed to the request, the FBI suspected Clinton’s lawyers played hide-and-seek with evidence, making the concession that much more baffling.

The scandal first erupted on March 2, 2015, when news broke that Clinton had secretly set up a non-government email server in the basement of her Chappaqua, N.Y., mansion in the weeks before she started her job at Foggy Bottom in early 2009. She used the unauthorized and unsecured device to conduct official State Department business—including transmitting and storing classified information—which allowed her to bypass legally mandated archiving of her government records.

The next day, the House Select Committee on Benghazi sent her attorney David Kendall a letter advising his client to preserve all electronic records created since January 2009 and specifically not to delete any emails on her private server. The panel then issued a subpoena for records related to the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.

By Paul Sperry

Read Full Article on RealCleatInvestigations.com

RealClear Media Group
RealClear Media Grouphttps://www.realclearmediagroup.com/
RealClear Media Group is a valuable source for the best news, analysis, and insights of the day and reaches an annual audience of 58 million readers.

Columns

Tariffs Will Make America Rich Again

The US won World War II because we could outproduce our enemies, Peter Navarro explained, and the American “arsenal of democracy” permitted the Allies to triumph.

America’s sport export

The popularity of baseball in Japan and Korea contrasts to a shrinking American audience where the average age of your MLB fan is a 57-year-old Caucasian man. 

The Black Conservative Manifesto, 2025

Black conservatives present this manifesto to the Black community and the nation as a blueprint for progress and improvement. 

 CIA Looked for the Ark of the Covenant?

The CIA's Project Sunstreak assembled people gifted in psychoenergetics to do “remote viewing” in an attempt to locate the Ark of the Covenant.

The Greek Bailout Revisited – Miscalculated and Misconceived

A body of opinion exists which accepts the premise that the basic rationale behind Greece’s 3 bailouts was either miscalculated or badly misconceived.

News

BOMBSHELL: DOGE Proves Democrats Guilty of Election Fraud!

As the old expression goes, “That didn’t take long!” Over...

US Deports 17 Accused Terrorist Gang Members to El Salvador, Rubio Says

U.S. officials transferred 17 accused Tren de Aragua and MS-13 terrorist gang members to El Salvador on Mar. 30, Sec. of State Marco Rubio confirmed.

Why Eggs Are Cheaper in Mexico and Canada

Canada and Mexico have active federal measures to control the price of eggs, while the United States does not.

Top FDA Vaccine Official Peter Marks Resigns From Agency

Dr. Peter Marks, who was involved in Operation Warp Speed to produce COVID-19 vaccines, submitted his resignation citing Sec. RFK Jr's initiatives.

Wisconsin AG Petitions State Supreme Court to Block Musk’s $1 Million Payments

Wisconsin’s AG submitted emergency petition to prevent Musk from paying $1 million to two random Wisconsinites who signed petition against activist judges.

University of Minnesota Says ICE Detained International Graduate Student

Leaders from the University of Minnesota said in a statement this week that an international graduate student is being detained by ICE.

Social Security Commissioner Corrects Record on Local Office Closures

“Recent reports in the media that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is permanently closing local field offices are false,” the agency said.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central