The GOP increasingly believes they have the election in the bag
by digby
I forced myself to watch some wingnut TV last night --- Fox, OAN and Newsmax --- and it's clear that they all believe the election is in the bag no matter which Republican gets the nomination. Or, at least that's what they are saying.
Why? Well, because that dreamy Republican FBI Chief James Comey is going to put Hillary Clinton in jail:
Comey appears fearless. As a kid, he was held hostage by a gunman during a home invasion; with his younger brother, he escaped twice, only to be caught again. This is the kind of straight arrow that Mrs. Clinton does not want on her case, and that Attorney General Loretta Lynch may not be able to corral. Asked by Scott Pelley during the 60 Minutes piece whether he didn’t have a duty to support President Bush on the eavesdropping matter, Comey answered, “No, my responsibility, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
What could bring Hillary down? According to some who have followed the case closely, Mrs. Clinton could be charged with breaking several laws, including willfully transmitting or retaining Top Secret material using a private server, unauthorized removal of classified information from government control or storing such information in an unauthorized location, lying to Congress, destruction of government property (wiping the server), lying under oath to a judge about having given the government all her emails or obstruction of justice.
There is no evidence that the FBI is even investigating Clinton much less suspecting any of that but it's an article of faith that she will be indicted before the election is even held and then the whole country will vote in whatever Republican is on the ballot pretty much by acclamation. Then Democrats will all admit they've always been wrong, wrong, wrong and let the Republicans run everything as God intended. Just so you know.
I did enjoy this though:
That dogged quest for justice and independence streak may come to haunt Hillary Clinton. Comey’s credibility expands when he warns Americans to be “deeply skeptical of government power,” as he did in a 60 Minutes interview. He cautioned, “You cannot trust people in power,” noting that the “founders knew that. That’s why they divided power among three branches, to set interest against interest.” Pressed to reassure the nation about the FBI’s surveillance activities, Comey confirmed “The promise I’ve tried to honor my entire career, that the rule of law and the design of the founders, right, the oversight of the courts and the oversight of Congress will be at the heart of what the FBI does."
There's certainly no reason to question whether a police agency injecting itself into the middle of an election might be suspect at all, though. No "government power" run amok there. That's just upstanding law enforcement. But then Republicans pretty much insist on doing that sort of thing whenever they can get away with it so maybe they'll do it this time too.
Recall the US Attorney scandal?
One of the fired prosecutors, David Iglesias of New Mexico, testified that he felt "leaned on" by Sen. Pete Domenici over a case he was pursuing. Iglesias said the New Mexico Republican and former mentor hung up on him after learning Iglesias would not seek indictments in a criminal investigation of Democrats before the 2006 election. "He said, 'Are these going to be filed before November?'" Iglesias recalled. "I said I didn't think so... to which he replied, 'I'm very sorry to hear that.' And then the line went dead. "I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach," Iglesias testified. "Six weeks later I got the call that I had to move on." The ousted prosecutor also said that Heather Wilson, a Republican House member from New Mexico, had called him about the same issue.
Using whatever means necessary whether it's calling bogus voter fraud, closing polling stations or indicting opposition politicians on flimsy charges is a legitimate democratic process in their eyes. If Comey and the FBI are good partisan Republicans they'll help out any way they can. And that means they may not be able to press charges but you can bet they'll leak misleading information to feed the hungry little birdies in the press and the wingnut mob.
Anyway, this is what the wingnuts see as their "trump" card and they are very, very confident they've got the win.
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