A Constitutionalist’s View of The Hillary Clinton E-Mail Investigation

Being a Constitutionalist means that sometimes the results are not what you like but are what the constitution requires.  In the case of the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton, there have been calls of a cover-up, a politically motivated result, and a politically motivated House investigation.

Vikram Amar notes, however, that the United States Constitution provides courses of action to Congress, exclusive of the Department of Justice’s decision not to indict the former Secretary of State.  The President has the Constitutional responsibility to enforce the law and the discretion on how to do so. In this case, the executive branch exercised its constitutional right to decline to prosecute.  Congress has the ability to impeach the former Secretary of State or the President, and in so doing could preclude her from holding office if convicted. There is no restriction on the ability of Congress to impeach after an officer of the United States leaves office, and the remedy available is to preclude the convicted officer from holding any office.  Finally, the President has the ability to unilaterally pardon the former Secretary of State under the provisions of the Constitution.

The United States Constitution provides a path for all parties that preserves the separation of powers as intended. Amar hits the nail on the head in this well-thought-out approach, and the Constitutional path should be the guide followed.

https://verdict.justia.com/2016/07/15/three-important-constitutional-lessons-take-fbi-director-comeys-statements-hillary-clintons-email-management

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