2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: A "limited hangout". The best DC Kabuki since Fitzmas. [View all]MineralMan
(146,288 posts)That a senior administration official from any administration would be prosecuted for mistakes made in the carrying out of their duties, or even for a more serious level of wrongdoing is almost unthinkable in our system. That's why it doesn't happen, unless the wrongdoing is so egregious or goes against the administration's wishes. The problem, really, is a matter of precedent.
Elected officials and top-level administration appointees are almost immune to prosecutions for official actions. For example, members of Congress are actually immune from prosecution for actions taken while acting as a House member or Senator. That's in the Constitution. They can face disciplinary actions in their house of Congress, but not prosecution for what they do on the floor of the body they were elected to.
That principle is pretty much observed throughout the highest levels of government, including cabinet officers. "Executive privilege" is often used to prevent cabinet officers from even testifying in some cases. The laws are not uniformly enforced when it comes to high-level government officials. They have some serious protections against prosecution.
Hillary Clinton was never going to be indicted for sloppy handling of State Department emails. It simply was not going to happen. She was the head of that department, after all, and set policies for it, as an appointed cabinet member. Her immunity from what would be a useless prosecution derives from the fact that she was appointed by the POTUS and was carrying out his wishes in her position.
There is immunity to a large degree for our elected and appointed leadership. Those in Congress enjoy it to an even greater extend than the Executive branch. We should never forget that their immunity is written into the Constitution. That's why a dumbass House representative can do all sorts of ugly crap without every worrying about prosecution. In some cases, members of Congress may even have avoided prosecution for the most heinous of felonies and gone on to become TV celebrities.
Here's a quote from Section I of that document:
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
Hillary was never going to be indicted. Anyone who understands how our system works should have known that. It was all a show put on by the Republicans for their own benefit.