Washington Post editor denies any Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton double standard
Ruth Marcus of The Post wrote in 2016 that Clinton's 'political idiocy' was not a crime
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus denied the idea of a "double standard" as it relates to Justice Department investigations into former President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"Let’s address that supposed 'double standard' between Trump and Hillary Clinton: There isn’t one," Marcus wrote.
Citing her own words from March 2016, Marcus reiterated that Clinton’s use of a private email server containing classified information was "sloppy" and "exasperating," but was a "far cry" from an indictable offense, as former FBI Director James Comey asserted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice. We do not see those things here," Comey said of the Clinton investigation at the time.
FBI CRUSHED OVER HEAVILY-REDACTED MAR-A-LAGO RAID AFFIDAVIT: ‘NO REASON FOR RAID,’ ‘GRAVE TRAVESTY’
The FBI has been criticized on the rightt for raiding former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. (Fox News)
The FBI initiated a search on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in response to what it believed to be a violation of federal laws: 18 USC 793 — gathering, transmitting or losing defense information; 18 USC 2071 — concealment, removal or mutilation; and 18 USC 1519 — destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations, on August 8, 2022.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump and his team are disputing the classification and say they believe the information and records to have been declassified.
Despite admitting that much of the evidence is still under wraps, Marcus still claimed there appeared to be "significant differences" between the actions of Trump and Clinton. Her evidence was a heavily redacted affidavit that was mocked online for containing minimal information.
"Investigators found 113 Clinton emails containing information that was classified at the time; more than 300 documents with classified markings have been recovered from Trump," Marcus wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Post logo outside of the building covered with snow. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
She added riots may very well ensue if Trump is criminally charged. Nevertheless, she hoped that prosecutors would be committed to take steps that might be "unpopular," so long as they believe "the prosecution serves the public interest."
In her 2016 opinion piece on Clinton, Marcus claimed Clinton's "political idiocy is not criminal."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"My point here isn’t to praise Clinton’s conduct. She shouldn’t have been using the private server for official business in the first place. It’s certainly possible she was cavalier about discussing classified material on it; that would be disturbing, but she wouldn’t be alone, especially given rampant over-classification," she wrote.