Eight Laws Hillary Clinton Could Be Indicted For Breaking

[Martha Stewart Went To Jail For Much Less]

As a former Justice Department official, I have, of late, been
asked by both Democratic and Republican friends whether Hillary
Clinton could be indicted for her email related actions. The
simple answer is yes — she, and perhaps some of her senior
staff, could be indicted for violating a number of federal
criminal statutes. But for reasons that will be discussed later,
it is unlikely that she will be.

Nevertheless, it is well worth discussing the various criminal
provisions of federal law that she and others may have been
violated based on mainstream news reports. Remember that news
reporting can be incorrect or incomplete — and that Hillary
Clinton, and anyone else involved, deserves every presumption of
innocence. Also keep in mind that an indictment is not a
conviction but rather the informed opinion of a grand jury that
probable cause exists to believe one or more violations of
federal criminal statutes have transpired.

This intellectual and legal research exercise should commence
with a brief review of the basics of criminal jurisprudence:
There are two elements of a criminal offense: the prohibited
conduct as defined in statute; and the mens rea or mental intent
of the individual or individuals engaging in the prohibited
conduct. Thus, to gain a conviction on a criminal count in an
indictment, a prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt
that: (1) the prohibited conduct occurred, (2) the prohibited
conduct was undertaken by the defendant, and (3) the defendant
had the requisite mens rea or intent at the time.

1.) 18 U.S. Code § 793 – Gathering, transmitting or losing
defense information
18 U.S. Code § 798 – Disclosure of classified information

A federal prosecutor would naturally focus first on the most
serious allegations: willfully transmitting or willfully
retaining Top Secret and Compartmented (TS/SCI) material using a
private server system. The individual who transmits and the
individual who receives and retains TS/SCI information on a
private server jointly share the culpability for risking the
compromise and exploitation of the information by hostile
intelligence services. The prosecutor’s charging document would
likely include felony counts under 18 U.S. Code § 793 and under
18 U.S. Code § 798 against each transmitting individual as well
as separate counts against each receiving and retaining
individual. Violation of either provision of the U.S. Code cited
above is a felony with a maximum prison term of ten years.

The prohibited conduct is the insecure transmission of highly
classified information, as well as the receipt and retention of
highly classified information in an unapproved manner. The
requisite mens rea is the willful commission of the prohibited
conduct and the knowledge that compromised information could
result in prejudice or injury to the United States or advantage
to any foreign nation. Proof of intent to disclose the
classified information is not required.

2.) U.S. Code § 1924 – Unauthorized removal and retention of
classified documents or material

If the federal prosecutors are of a charitable disposition and
an accused person has been cooperative, the felony charges under
18 U.S. Code § 793 and 18 U.S. Code § 798 may be “pled-down” to
a single or to multiple misdemeanor counts under 18 U.S. Code §
1924. A misdemeanor conviction would probably result in a period
of probation and a less significant fine. The prohibited conduct
is the unauthorized removal of classified information from
government control or its retention in an unauthorized location.
The mens rea required is the intent to remove from government
control or the intent to store the classified information in an
unauthorized location.


3.) 18 U.S. Code § 2071(b) — Concealment, removal, or mutilation
generally

To sustain a charge under 18 U.S. Code § 2071(b), a federal
prosecutor need only prove that the accused transferred and held
the only copies of official government records (whether
classified or not), the very existence of which was concealed
from government records custodians. The mens rea required is
that an accused knows that official government records were
transferred or removed from the control of government records
custodians. Violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2071(b) is a felony with
a maximum prison term of three years.

4.) 18 U.S. Code § 641 – Public money, property or records

Again, if the federal prosecutors are of a charitable
disposition and accused has been cooperative, the felony charges
under 18 U.S. Code § 2071(b) can be “pled down” to a misdemeanor
under 18 U.S. Code § 641. The prohibited conduct is the
conversion of official records (whether classified or not) to
the accused’s exclusive use and the mens rea is simply the
intent to do so. Conviction on the lesser misdemeanor charge
would likely result in a period of probation and the imposition
of a fine.

5.) 18 U.S. Code § 1505 – Obstruction of proceedings before
departments, agencies, and committees

If it can be proven that an accused destroyed, withheld, or
concealed the existence of official records being sought under
subpoena by a committee of Congress, the accused can be
convicted of obstruction under 18 U.S. Code § 1505. The
prohibited conduct includes destruction, concealment and
withholding of documents, thereby impeding or obstructing the
committee’s rightful pursuit of information. The mens rea is
knowledge of the committee’s interest in obtaining the official
records in the accused’s custody or control. Violation of 18
U.S. Code § 1505 is a felony with a maximum prison term of five
years.

6.) 18 U.S. Code § 1519 — Destruction, alteration, or
falsification of records in federal investigations

If it can be proven that an accused knowingly concealed the
existence of official records being sought by the Department of
State Inspector General (DOS/IG) or by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), such accused can be convicted of
obstruction. The prohibited conduct is the concealment and
withholding of documents that impede or obstruct an
investigation. The mens rea is the intent to conceal or
withhold. Violation of 18 U.S. Code § 1519 is a felony with a
maximum prison term of twenty years.

7.) 18 U.S. Code § 1031 — Fraud against the United States
18 U.S. Code § 1343 – Fraud by wire, radio or television
18 U.S. Code § 1346 — Definition of “scheme or artifice to
defraud”
18 U.S. Code § 371 – Conspiracy to defraud the United States

If it can be proven that an accused arranged for the Department
of State to hire an Information Technology (IT) specialist to
primarily administer and maintain a private server system owned
by the accused, then the accused can be convicted of conspiracy
to commit honest services fraud and probably wire fraud. The
prohibited conduct is having the United States pay an employee
salary and/or official travel funds for performing private
services on behalf of accused. The mens rea is simply the
knowledge of the employee’s status as a public servant and that
the government was not fully reimbursed for the costs to the
government of such services. The wire fraud conviction can be
sought if it can be proven that accused used electronic means of
communication in undertaking such scheme or artifice to defraud.

8.) 18 U.S. Code § 371 – Conspiracy to commit a federal offense

If any accused and any third party can be proven to have
colluded in any violation of federal, criminal law, then all
involved can be charged with criminal conspiracy as well as
being charged with the underlying offense.

Indictment?

The old adage, that a good prosecutor can get a ham sandwich
indicted, is bad news for any public servant who risks the
compromise of classified information or otherwise violates any
of the other federal criminal statutes listed above.
Specifically, this Administration has a history of vigorously
prosecuting and winning convictions in the mishandling of
classified information and other criminal violations of the
public trust.

However, Hillary Clinton is anything but a ham sandwich; and she
knows it. She and her senior aides will not even be formally
investigated by this Justice Department, much less indicted. The
president will allow Hillary Clinton and her aides to “tough it
out” for as long it is politically possible. However, if and
when the political and public opinion costs of a “tough it out”
tactic become too great, President Obama will simply use that
famous pen of his to issue a succinct pardon and make formal
mockery of the concept of equal justice.

Kenneth Bergquist served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General
in the United States Department of Justice during the Reagan
Administration and serves now as pro bono legal counsel to the
Special Operations Education Fund (OPSEC).

http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/21/eight-laws-hillary-clinton-
could-be-indicted-for-breaking/
 

[166p1]

Give UP on it ! HRC - though deserving - will NEVER be
indicted, much less convicted of ANYTHING. She has
too many friends in high, and low, places.

But you're not the only one who's nuts - there are
still lots of people CONVINCED Trump will somehow
magically be prez again by Xmas.

And, well, there's regular nuts and then there's
the "Q" - didja see the giant crowd that gathered
in Dallas a couple weeks ago SURE that JFK Jr. was
going to appear and announce a Trump/Kennedy ticket ?
The only place he's appearing is in the stomachs of
several sharks ....

Most thought the "Q" would fade away, but instead
there seem to be more than ever - now even overseas -
and their Holy Revelations just get weirder. At
this point it MAY be an actual religion ... "Q"
being just another invisible god whispering into
the ears of The Believers, just with a modern internet
twist ....