Of course, it could have been worse.
FBI Director James Comey could have recommended prosecution of Hillary Clinton or her closest aides for being “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”
But an FBI recommendation of an indictment over Hillary’s home-brew email systems would have provided the Democratic Party with an escape hatch. Since Democratic delegates to the Philadelphia convention are not legally bound, there would have been a groundswell of support for Joe Biden as a last-minute substitute nominee.
Instead, the Democrats are saddled with their most flawed nominee since an exhausted party nominated John W. Davis on the 103rd ballot in 1924. Hillary Clinton’s disapproval rating averaged 55 percent even before Comey read his statement Tuesday morning in a firm uninflected voice.
Fortunately for Hillary — but not the Democrats — heedless incompetence is not a federal crime. Comey’s cascade of carelessness is an indictment of a woman who is partly running for president on her ability to handle a 3 a.m. emergency phone call on a secure line.
Huma will answer.