The Clinton Verdict

Though Donald Trump may not like it, Hillary Clinton didn’t commit a crime.

The FBI has spoken. It will not recommend that Clinton be tried for using private servers and a private email address for her electronic communications, which included classified information, when she was secretary of state.

For the candidate and all those who believe she’s the best choice to succeed Barack Obama in January 2017, it’s great news.

But she hasn’t come out of this unscathed. After its investigation, the FBI severely criticized the Democratic politician.

FBI Director James Comey stated that she and her entourage had been “extremely careless.” The diplomat-in-chief sent or received more than 100 emails, out of around 60,000, that were deemed “classified.”

Comey also criticized the culture of the State Department, which he stated was generally too lax about sending classified information via email. It must be said that Clinton was not the only secretary of state to have used a private account to send work-related emails.

Doing so, however, was a major lapse in judgement on Clinton’s part. She also made an error after the affair was revealed by getting tangled up in lies and half-truths over the past few months in an attempt to defend herself.

Even before the FBI revealed the results of its investigation, people knew Clinton wasn’t a perfect candidate. She was the best the Democrats had to offer, but like many longtime politicians, she has her faults and has made mistakes.

That being said, after four years as secretary of state and eight years as senator, it’s clear that lapses of judgement are the exception rather than the rule.

You can’t say the same about her Republican adversary. With alarmingly regularity, he provides numerous reasons why we should doubt his judgement and fear the possibility of his victory next November. His reaction to the FBI’s decision is a good example.

“FBI director said Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges. Wow! #RiggedSystem,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

Not only has he continued to express his opinions on this like an angry teenager, but as usual, he sees conspiracies where there are none. The FBI, which is headed by a man recognized for his integrity, rightfully concluded after an exhaustive investigation that no court would find Clinton guilty of a crime in this case.

However, she will have to find a way to pick up the pieces, among other ways, by choosing an experienced vice president who won’t be afraid to tell her when she’s going down the wrong path, like in the case of the emails.

In short, crime or not, she cannot and must not turn the page on this unpleasant episode of her political career without proving that she has learned from her mistakes.