Right-Wing Media React Run Wild After FBI Letter: “Grand Jury,” “Special Prosecutor,” “Impeachment”
FBI Director James Comey Releases Letter Indicating The FBI Is Reviewing Additional “Emails That Appear To Be Pertinent To The Investigation” Of Clinton’s Use Of Private Email. [Media Matters, 10/28/16]
Alex Jones: My “Sources” Tell Me “Hillary Clinton Will Be Indicted After The Election And After The Inauguration.” Right-wing radio host Alex Jones claimed that “we have sources inside the FBI, Secret Service, federal marshals, you name it. I contacted two of those sources today and they wouldn’t speak about the investigation, but they said that the word is Hillary Clinton will be indicted after the election and after the inauguration whether she wins or not.” He added that “they’ve got the grand jury ready to hand” the indictment down. [YouTube, 10/28/16]
Jeffrey Lord: Voters “Need To Consider” That There’s Going To Be A Movement To “Impeach” Clinton If She Wins. During an appearance on CNN, pro-Trump commentator Jeffrey Lord said that if Clinton wins the election, “this isn't going to stop. There will be a move to impeach her the moment her hand comes down from that Bible. This is going to go on and on and on and on and frankly, I mean that's something the American people need to consider now.” [CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 10/28/16]
John Bolton: Clinton Now Has A “High” Chance Of Being “Impeached And Convicted.” Fox News contributor John Bolton responded to the news of the FBI letter by reiterating his belief that Clinton is “on the road to impeachment,” and there is a “high possibility” that she will be “impeached and convicted.” [WRKO, The Kuhner Report, 10/28/16]
Jay Sekulow: There Needs To Be A “Grand Jury” And A “Special Prosecutor.” Conservative pundit and attorney Jay Sekulow said on Hannity that “a grand jury needs to be impaneled.” He added that a special prosecutor needs to be appointed immediately because we’re on the “precipice of a constitutional crisis.” [Fox News, Hannity, 10/28/16]
Megyn Kelly Asks If There Needs To Be A Special Prosecutor Investigating Clinton Emails. On her October 28 program, Megyn Kelly asked Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) if Clinton “gets elected on November 8th, this isn't going away. So what needs to happen, special prosecutor? She can't investigate herself as the president elect.” [Fox News, The Kelly File, 10/28/16]
American Thinker Writer: “A Special Prosecutor Should Be Appointed Immediately To Investigate.” American Thinker writer J. Marsolo wrote: “There must be something important in these emails for Comey to investigate ten days before the election. Assuming that it is important, a special prosecutor should be appointed immediately to investigate. But given the time constraints before the election, we are left with Comey, who has a chance to redeem the FBI and himself by conduction a real investigation within the next ten days and immediately releasing the emails.” [American Thinker, 10/29/16]
Despite Conservative Outrage, The FBI Hasn't Even Assessed The Emails In Question Yet
Comey Letter: “FBI Cannot Yet Assess Whether Or Not This Material May Be Significant.” In his October 28 letter, Comey wrote that the FBI is taking “appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation.” He added that the “FBI cannot yet assess whether or not this material may be significant, and I cannot predict how long it will take us to complete.” [NYTimes.com, 10/28/16]
NBC’s Pete Williams: Sources Say “The Agents Have Not Yet Examined These New Emails.” NBC News correspondent Pete Williams reported on October 29 that “we’re told that the agents have not yet examined these new emails. They have no idea what’s in them. So it’s possible many of them could be duplicates of what the FBI has already seen. But there's no way the review of these new emails can be done by election day, so there’s no way yet to say whether they have any legal significance or not.” [MSNBC, AM Joy, 10/29/16]
