Is anyone surprised that our government no longer holds the powerful accountable? And yet:

Clinton sent and received emails that concerned matters that were classified at the top-secret special access program level at the time of the communications, he said. That flatly contradicted the former first lady’s public assertion that she never sent or received classified information.

“There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position or in the position of those with whom she was corresponding about the matters should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation,” Comey said.

Comey also said “it is possible that hostile actors gained access” to Clinton’s private email account, noting that her use of that system was widely known and that she sent and received work emails “in the territory of sophisticated adversaries.”

Let’s fill in the picture a little… on the merits of the case, the FBI can prove that she knowingly sent classified material on an unsecured system, kept a private server in the first place, and lied the whole time about it, but didn’t recommend charges because they don’t believe she intended to break the law? That’s pure, unaltered BS. Not only is intent moot in the laws she broke, but a simpleton can see that she darn well intended to do what she did and that she knew it was against the law. Any other reading of the facts assumes that either Clinton is a drooling imbecile.

The FBI discredited itself today and opened the door to decades of challenges from people who breach our national security.

Next, let’s look at the timeline that reveals the politics.

– For weeks, Democrats have been telegraphing that she wouldn’t be charged (how did they know?).

– The week before, Bill Clinton huddles with the Attorney General.

– After getting caught, the AG says that she will take whatever the recommendation of the FBI (easy to do when you know what it will be).

– The FBI interviews Clinton on the Saturday of the Independence Day weekend. Why? Because it gets minimal media attention. Remember that this investigation has been going on for months. They could have interviewed her any time.

– On the day after Independence Day, the FBI announces its decision to not recommend charges.

– THAT DAY, President Obama is campaigning with Clinton. Campaign events – especially with a sitting president – are booked well in advance. There’s no way Obama would have campaigned with her had she been charged. His simple presence tells us that he knew all along that she wouldn’t be charged. And why wouldn’t he? The FBI and DOJ work for him.

This whole episode confirms what American have known, but hoped wasn’t true, for a while now: laws are only for the rest of us. The rich and powerful need not worry.