ONE MAN, JAMES B. COMEY, DIRECTOR OF THE F.B.I., COULD HAVE PREVENTED THE VERY POSSIBILITY OF SEATING A LIKELY CRIMINAL IN THE WHITE HOUSE; HE FAILED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, is Hillary Clinton's best enabler and as that enabler, who would suffer her evil, he forsakes and abandons not only his own good character, but the well-being of a nation.

PART ONE OF TWO PARTS

“. . . you never exactly lie, but often you don’t exactly not lie, either. You tell people only what you want them to know, and not a word more or less, and let them make of it what they will.” ~Taylor Caldwell, Captains And The Kings, Part Two, Chapter 5, page 497, Doubleday & Company, Inc. (1972)

FIRST HYPOTHESIS: A MAN OF GOOD CHARACTER AND REPUTATION, BUT ONE WHO WIELDS LITTLE TO NO POWER AND WHO FALLS PREY TO CORRUPTING INFLUENCES OR WHO OTHERWISE FINDS HIMSELF COMPROMISED, BRINGS DISHONOR TO HIMSELF, TRULY; BUT SUCH A MAN HARMS ONLY HIMSELF. HE HAS LITTLE CAPACITY FOR HARMING HIS HOUSE—AN ENTIRE NATION.

SECOND HYPOTHESIS: A MAN OF GOOD CHARACTER AND REPUTATION BUT ONE WHO HAPPENS TO WIELD CONSIDERABLE POWER, AS WELL, HAS TREMENDOUS POWER TO PERSUADE. AND, IF THAT MAN SHOULD HAPPEN TO FALL PREY TO CORRUPTING INFLUENCES OR, IF THAT MAN SHOULD OTHERWISE FIND HIMSELF COMPROMISED, DISHONOR BEFALLS NOT ONLY HIMSELF BUT HIS HOUSE AND CAN, MOST ASSUREDLY, WITH HIS WORDS —HIS HALF-TRUTHS, HIS EVASIONS, HIS LIES—CONTRIBUTE TO THE DOWNFALL OF HIS HOUSE—AN ENTIRE NATION.

On Wednesday, September 28, 2016, the House Judiciary Committee held a second oversight Hearing on FBI operations.The Committee called on the F.B.I. Director, James B. Comey, once again, to appear and to testify on behalf of the Bureau. House Democrats tried, however unsuccessfully and certainly inappropriately, to steer the Hearing toward irrelevant policy matters, several of which were clearly outside the purview of the Bureau and outside the true purpose of the Hearing. But House Republicans were, fortunately, not persuaded to follow suit and kept the Hearing on target. They focused their attention on the critical matter at hand: the conduct of the F.B.I. in undertaking its criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton and her underlings.House Republicans grilled Comey on the F.B.I.’s mishandling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s own mishandling of classified federal Government information during her tenure as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. Comey was, as always, perspicacious, articulate, respectful toward Congress, candid, and ostensibly sincere, rarely showing irritation. He was also cautious, attentive, intransigent, keenly observant, and adamant. He wouldn’t budge on his decision not to recommend, to the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, indictment of Hillary Clinton on multiple federal felony charges. In Comey’s estimation, as he declared to the House Judiciary Committee, neither Hillary Clinton nor her underlings merit indictment under federal statute.Comey’s protestations are both weak and at times patently ludicrous, in light of, one, the weight of evidence screaming for indictment of Clinton—evidence Comey had himself reported in his July 5, 2016 statement to the American People; and in light, two, of the mass of inconsistencies House Republicans brought to the Director’s attention, concerning the conduct of Clinton’s cronies during the course of the F.B.I.’s criminal investigation and, too, the odd manner in which the F.B.I. conducted several of its interviews—a matter which House Republicans also brought to the F.B.I. Director’s attention.During the course of the Hearing, one inescapable and very disturbing inference, as voiced by one Republican member of the panel, could not but be drawn. It was this: the decision to let Clinton and her underlings off the hook—whosoever it was who made it—must have been decided well before the F.B.I. criminal investigation into violations of federal law had concluded—in fact, perhaps, before the criminal investigation even began. The unstated presumption, implied by the inference, is that the entire criminal investigation was an elaborate and extremely expensive but ultimately vacuous performance, predicated on necessity, no doubt and, so, definitely no hoax, for serious misconduct by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and by her underlings, did exist, and serious crimes had been, on balance, committed—but such probability of crimes the F.B.I. found were never meant to be prosecuted. Someone or some powerful vested interests here or abroad made certain that would not happen.The painful realization is that the F.B.I. has allowed Hillary Clinton and her toadies to avoid criminal prosecution for serious crimes against the Country, against this Country’s Constitution, and against this Country’s citizenry. Americans may one day—assuming this Country, as an independent Sovereign Nation still exists—bring the U.S. Department of Justice itself to account for shirking its most sacred duties to God, Country, People, and Law.

WHAT COMEY’S DECISION HAS WROUGHT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Through the failure of the F.B.I. Director, James B. Comey, to recommend indictment of both Hillary Clinton and her cronies on felony charges and through the failure of the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to charge Hillary Clinton and her cronies with multiple felony counts, the Justice Department has laid the groundwork for placing the most despicable—and, let us say, to use one of Clinton’s own words, deplorable—person ever to hold public office in the highest Office of the Land—a selfish person, an amoral person, a person loathsomely consumed by the naked lust for power, rabidly consumed by the lurid desire for personal aggrandizement, and ravenously consumed by the noxious need to accumulate vast sums of money, ignominiously, through the sale of high public Office; a person who has clearly broken our Nation’s laws, has broken many of them, and has broken them many times over, and has urged and encouraged others to do so as well; a person who cares not one whit for the honor of our Country; or for our Constitution; or for our Country’s laws; or for our sacred rights and liberties—those sacred rights and liberties hard fought for by the founders of our Nation; or for our Countrymen, many of whom have sacrificed their life that we may remain a free People and a free, sovereign Nation.If Clinton wins the election both she and her cronies will have carte blanche to complete what Clinton, as Secretary of State, had begun: destruction of this Country’s laws, its Sovereignty, its economy, its culture, its heritage, its security, the rights and liberties of its citizenry—indeed, everything upon which this once mighty Nation once stood for and represented.At the September 28, 2016, Congressional Hearing, House Republicans once again asked the F.B.I. Director, lamely, to reopen its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s misconduct and those of her underlings. Comey again refused to do so; nor would he be willing to look into his Bureau’s own mishandling of the investigation.Congress is, as well, apparently unwilling to allow the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 2014 out of Committee. Doing so would circumvent a recalcitrant Justice Department, reluctant to enforce our Nation’s laws.The Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 2014 requires the appointment of outside, independent counsel to investigate serious crimes of high public officials when the Department of Justice is unable or unwilling to uphold the laws of this Nation. Congress and the Courts take over the duty of seeing that justice is served when the Executive Branch is unable or unwilling to police itself through the U.S. Department of Justice. The failure of Congress to allow open debate and a full House vote on the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 2014, means that many members of Congress, as with the Executive Branch of the federal Government, are not too keen on embracing integrity in Government. Integrity does not, apparently, rank very high in importance in the conduct of our Nation’s business.The Arbalest Quarrel has previously discussed the need for appointment of independent counsel to reinvestigate Hillary Clinton’s misconduct during her tenure as Secretary of State and has written to the sponsors of the bill, Representatives Michael Turner and Rick Allen, urging them to act. The Arbalest Quarrel Article is titled, "The Foundation of Justice undone by the Foundation, Clinton." To date we have heard not a word about action on the bill. The silence is deafening.Apparently, Congress has neither the will nor the fortitude to compel integrity in the federal Government. Is this not an act of betrayal against the Country and the American People?Clearly, there is blame aplenty to go around, but what does it take to shame the Government to act at the behest of the People to prevent the calamity of a likely criminal, Hillary Rodham Clinton, seated in the White House?_____________________________________

IS HILLARY CLINTON, LIKE THE BIG BANKS, TOO BIG TO PROSECUTE, EVEN IF—ESPECIALLY IF—HER MISCONDUCT RISES TO THE LEVEL OF TREASON?

PART TWO OF TWO PARTS

“He said to himself—though not without a dim inner protest: We are our own destiny. If we are victims at all, or conquerors, we have done it in our minds, and our will, or with our faulty judgments or our illusions. If we permit others to exploit us, in private life or in government, we chose it. Or we made the fatal error of acquiescence, and for that we should be condemned. The world forgives everything but weakness and submission. It forgives everyone but a victim. For there is always battle, even if you die in it. In any event death comes to all men. How you died was your own choice, fighting or submitting.” ~Taylor Caldwell, Captains And The Kings, Part One, Chapter 17, page 178, Doubleday & Company, Inc. (1972)

APART FROM SUBSTANTIVE AND SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE OF FELONY CRIMES INVOLVING, ONE, THE MISHANDLING OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, TWO, CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY IN HIGH PUBLIC OFFICE, AND, THREE, INTENTIONALLY LYING TO OFFICIALS OF GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKING A LEGITIMATE INVESTIGATION INTO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, DID HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, AS SECRETARY OF STATE, ENGAGE IN ANY CONDUCT THAT RISES TO THE LEVEL OF OUTRIGHT TREASON? IF NOT, DOES THE TOTALITY OF CLINTON’S MISCONDUCT AS SECRETARY OF STATE SUPPORT A CHARGE OF TREASON?

To answer these questions we should first take a look at the history of “treason.” We need to place the crime of “treason” in historical context. We can trace the notion of ‘treason’ to English law. An Eminent English Jurist of the Eighteenth Century, Sir William Blackstone “wrote that treason ‘imports a betraying, treachery, or breach of faith.’ Blackstone further noted that treason against the sovereign—termed ‘high treason’—amounts to the ‘highest civil crime.’” “State Treason: The History and Validity of Treason Against Individual States," J. Taylor McConkie, Brigham Young University, B.A.; Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. Trial Attorney, United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, 101 Ky. L.J. 281, 283 (2012/2013).Although U.S. law takes its cue from English law, the betrayal against the Sovereign that Blackstone talks about is betrayal against the Monarch, the King of England. Of course, the U.S. does not have a Monarch although one might argue that, in effect, we do have a Monarch. But, even as the U.S. President has, in evident ways in recent years, assumed ever more power unto himself, still, under our Constitution and our system of laws, it is the American people in whom sovereignty ultimately resides. The People of the United States as a singular body are essentially the Country. An act of betrayal against Country is, then, an act of betrayal against the People of the United States in whom ultimate power exists under our system of laws and under our Constitution.

CAN A CHARGE OF TREASON BE LEVELLED AGAINST THE HIGHEST OFFICIAL IN THE LAND?

Where power to make laws, enforce laws, and interpret laws rests in a Monarch—that power is absolute. A subject of the Sovereign can betray the Sovereign and thereby commit treason. But, the Sovereign cannot betray himself if he is the Supreme Law of the Land.In the United States, though, the U.S. President, as a citizen of the United States, is not a law unto himself—certainly not if our Constitution has any force and efficacy.Yet some U.S. Presidents have, in their deeds, if not in their words, ascribed such power to themselves. If betrayal, treachery, or breach of faith to Country is, in essence, as William Blackstone said, the sine qua non of “treason,” what specific conduct of an actor rises to the level of betrayal, treachery, or breach of faith to Country?

THE LAWS OF TREASON IN AMERICA

The crime of treason appears in two significant places. First and foremost, the crime of treason appears in the United States Constitution. Article III, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2 set forth:“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.""The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.”Of note, the President of the United States, and other high-ranking officers are not exempt from a charge of treason levelled against them as it relates to their betrayal of the American People while in Office. The U.S. Constitution makes specific provision for this betrayal. Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution sets forth, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”The crime of treason is also codified in federal Statute. You will find the crime of treason in the United States Code: Title 18, “Crimes and Criminal Procedure:” “Part I, “Crimes;” “Chapter 115, “Treason, Sedition, and Subversive Activities.” 18 U.S.C. § 2381, titled, clearly, plainly, and succinctly, “Treason,” sets forth: “Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

TAKE NOTE OF TWO IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE ABOVE ACCOUNT OF TREASON AS CODIFIED IN OUR CONSTITUTION AND IN OUR STATUTES

One, the founders of our Republic felt that the crime of treason was so horrific that they made specific provision for it in the U.S. Constitution, specifically warning the highest public officials in the Land, that they, no less than any ordinary citizen, are not above the law and that they may be charged with the crime of treason if their actions ever betray their duties to Country, to the citizens of the Nation, and to the Constitution whom they are sworn to serve.Two, concomitant with and consistent with the Constitutional provision, the federal statute clarifies the Constitutional prohibition and is, to our knowledge, the only federal Statute that specifically, directly, and unequivocally, within a few words of mentioning the crime, calls for the possibility of death for those individuals who are convicted of it. Thus, Congress made abundantly clear the particular heinousness of the crime of treason.

ENDNOTE

We continue our exposition of the crime of treason in forthcoming articles. Our purpose is to ascertain whether a reasonable legal basis exists under our law and under our Constitution to indict Hillary Rodham Clinton on the charge of treason.With less than six weeks remaining before the U.S. Presidential election every American citizen has a critical choice to make. It is absolutely incumbent on all Americans—who care deeply for the continuation of our Country as an independent Sovereign Nation, beholding to no other Nation, subordinated to no other Nation, who truly believes in the rule of law and who holds to our inviolate rights and liberties as codified in our sacred Bill of Rights—to make certain that a likely criminal, Hillary Rodham Clinton, sets not one foot into the White House.There is only one way to prevent a travesty and calamity from ensuing. The stakes could not be higher. Regardless of your past or present Party affiliation, you must cast your vote for Donald Trump.How Donald Trump comports himself as U.S. President is, as we must concede, of concern. This is predicated on specific statements he has made. Yet, the Nation can survive Trump’s excesses. But, the Republic will be well lost if Hillary Clinton—a person who cares little for any American and even less for our Constitution, and especially for our Bill of Rights; and for the continuation of our Country as an independent, sovereign Nation; for our traditions, our culture, and our unique history; for our jurisprudence, and, not least of all, for our system of laws, given clear, ample, and irrefutable evidence of Clinton having broken many of them—actually becomes the 45^th U.S. President.[separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2016 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.

HILLARY CLINTON: A FLAWED CHARACTER FOR THOSE WHO SEE THE U.S. AS FLAWED

Individuals are unique and that is to be applauded; but unethical and criminal conduct is never unique, and when such conduct occurs, it is to be brought to light and roundly condemned.

PART ONE OF TWO PARTS

“Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.” ~ William Penn“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, and licentiousness, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” ~ John Adams (Letter to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, 11 October 1798)Hillary Clinton is likely a criminal—not merely a misdemeanant, but, rather, the worst sort of criminal—a felon. Her supporters don’t want to acknowledge it. They certainly don’t want to talk about it. But they must accept the truth of it even as they choose to ignore the searing reality behind it; the transparently clear evidence for it.Moreover, even though Hillary Clinton, to date, has not been indicted on felony criminal charges, this does not mean that Hillary Clinton did not commit one or more felonies as Secretary of State. The failure of the F.B.I. to recommend an indictment to the Attorney General and the failure of the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, to proceed with an indictment regardless of the F.B.I.’s recommendation, does not entail that Hillary Clinton didn’t commit a crime. This point is contrary to the mainstream media’s take on the matter and it is the very point that supporters of Clinton hang their hat on, postulating that, “after all Hillary Clinton is not a criminal precisely because the Department of Justice failed to bring charges against her.” Hogwash! Probable cause dictates a finding that Hillary Clinton committed several felonies, and the lack of indictment does not obviate the truth of that assertion one iota. At times prosecutors will not charge an individual with a crime for a multitude of reasons, notwithstanding that probable cause exists that an individual did in fact commit a crime. Sometimes evidence of a crime is clear and indisputable, but, the evidence may be tainted. If so, that evidence of a crime will not be admissible in a Court of law, rendering the possibility of a conviction unlikely or moot.Perhaps prosecutors go after “bigger fish to fry” and will agree not to charge an individual with a crime if that individual is willing to “turn State’s evidence” and agree to testify against another in return for leniency or freedom from prosecution. Prosecutorial discretion permits prosecutors to charge a person with all the crimes that appear in a police report or just one or a few of them. Or prosecutors can charge a person with a crime less severe or even more severe than what appears in a police arrest report. Sometimes prosecutors will bend to political pressure to bring charges against an individual when, in their best judgment, they would rather not do so.Contrariwise, as we see here, the Justice Department may decide not to bring charges against a person who, by all reasonable accounts—if we are a Nation of laws and a Nation governed by the rule of law and not by men—should have been indicted on multiple felony criminal charges and on multiple counts within any one felony.Perhaps, Hillary Rodham Clinton, like the major banks, is too big to prosecute. Perhaps, as is increasingly evident, Hillary Clinton is protected by shadowy, sinister, wholly evil, extraordinarily wealthy, and extremely powerful interests both here and abroad, who want their “puppet” in the highest Office of the Land. These secretive, powerful interests want a creature in high Office that has done and will continue to do all that they ask of it and that will be able to deliver ever more sizable returns as President of the United States. So, if the F.B.I., and the entirety of the Justice Department, of which the F.B.I. is a critical component, has not been corrupted, it definitely has been compromised. For probable cause of Clinton’s crimes is clear and irrefutable.Substantive and substantial evidence supports a finding that Hillary Clinton likely violated 18 U.S.C. § 793, “Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information” because substantive and substantial evidence exists that she mishandled, either intentionally or through gross negligence, classified Government information during her tenure as Secretary of State.Substantive and substantial evidence also supports a finding that Hillary Clinton likely violated 18 U.S.C. § 1001 is titled, “Statements or Entries Generally,” because substantive evidence exists that she lied to the F.B.I., during the Bureau’s criminal investigation. Substantive and substantial evidence supports a finding, third, that Hillary Clinton likely violated 18 U.S.C. § 201, titled, "Bribery of public officials and witnesses," because substantive and substantial evidence exists that, while serving as Secretary of State, both she and her husband utilized the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation as an illegal conduit through which wealthy donors— including individuals, foreign governments, NGOs, and multinational corporations—paid the Clintons handsomely for personal favorable treatment at the expense of the American people and in contravention of the U.S. Constitution and in contravention of our Nation’s laws. The offering of bribes to public officials and the taking of bribes by public officials is a serious federal offense.The penalty for conviction on any one of the aforementioned laws includes incarceration in federal prison—incarceration for several years.It is unlikely that a person who is convicted of a felony can obtain employment with the federal Government—whether as a low-level civil servant, or one who holds super-grade under the General Schedule of the U.S. Government service. The F.B.I., for example, will not hire a person who has been convicted of a felony. One can only wonder whether the F.B.I. would seriously consider hiring Hillary Rodham Clinton for any position in the Bureau if she were to seek employment with the Bureau. Would all her sins be forgiven? Not hardly!Of Course, the Director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, had made a recommendation to the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, not to indict Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Loretta Lynch, not surprisingly, accepted that recommendation. But, one would be hard-pressed to believe that James Comey would permit Hillary Rodham Clinton to work for the F.B.I. as an agent of the F.B.I. or, for that matter, as a clerk-typist within the F.B.I., based on what he had learned about her—a tidbit, no doubt, of what the public has learned about Clinton’s misconduct—and what he shared with the American public in his unprecedented statement to the American public, on July 5, 2016, the day following and marking our day of independence from tyranny. James Comey made abundantly clear to the American people that Clinton’s mishandling of Government information falls into the category of “extremely careless.”Would James Comey permit the hiring of such a person to handle F.B.I. information? And, if Hillary Clinton was extremely careless in handling classified information coming across her desk as Secretary of State, is it not likely she would be just as careless in her handling of classified federal Government information that comes across her desk as “U.S. President” Hillary Clinton?U.S. President Barack Obama, for his part, doesn’t seem to mind. He obviously doesn’t care whether Hillary Rodham Clinton mishandled Government information in her capacity as Secretary of State, for he was off campaigning with her the very day James Comey delivered his statement to the American people, —a statement clearly damning Clinton even as Comey refused, for some unexplained and inexplicable reason, to recommend indictment, assuming that he, otherwise, wasn't compelled to recommend, to the Attorney General, no indictment on felony charges against Clinton.And, what is one to make of Obama’s assertions against Donald Trump. The President casts aspersions on Donald Trump, whom the F.B.I. has never investigated for federal crimes amounting to serious felonies and whom the F.B.I. never had to investigate for federal crimes amounting to felonies. Yet Obama tells the American people that Hillary Rodham Clinton is admirably suited to run this Country. Obama says this, oddly enough, even as Director Comey certainly must now—especially now—have serious doubts about Clinton’s ability to lead this Country—serious doubts based on the fact that the F.B.I. had a rational basis to undertake its criminal investigation of Clinton for possible violations of federal law in the first place—very serious violations of federal law—violations of specific federal law amounting to felonies. The sound conclusion to be drawn is this: probable cause exists that Hillary Clinton committed multiple felonies. This is not mere speculation. This is predicated on the findings of the Bureau as illuminated for the American people through the Director’s candid July 5, 2016 statement to the American people.So, whether Director Comey recommended an indictment of Hillary Rodham Clinton or not, that is beside the point because there is nothing in the Director’s July 5, 2016 statement to the American people that vindicates Clinton. He certainly didn’t say that Clinton did not commit a crime. To the contrary, the Director’s statement makes clear that the F.B.I. believes—contrary to the conclusions drawn by some mainstream media publications that Clinton did not violate Federal law—that she did in fact commit a crime—that the evidence supports a finding that Clinton did in fact commit more than one federal crime and that the evidence supports a finding that she committed federal crimes over an extended period of time—several instances of misconduct of each crime over an extended period of time.James B. Comey, then, did not give Hillary Rodham Clinton "a free pass" or “a clean bill of health,” when he failed to recommend an indictment against her on charges of violating federal law. Indeed, Comey’s arguments for not recommending indictment are so lame, when juxtaposed with the clear, cogent, and comprehensive litany of wrongdoing by Clinton that one comes away suspecting that Comey expects—indeed wants—the public to see through the obvious weaknesses of his arguments in support of not recommending an indictment of Clinton on federal criminal charges.First, Comey says, in his statement to the American public that, "although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case." That is all well and good, but for the fact that the F.B.I. wouldn't be prosecuting Hillary Clinton; the Criminal Division of the Justice Department would be handling the prosecution of Clinton and it is for the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, not for the F.B.I., to determine whether to proceed with the prosecution. So it is the Criminal Division's call whether or not, ultimately, to prosecute Clinton. There is certainly sufficient evidence to warrant a recommendation of the F.B.I. to the Attorney General. James Comey interjected a matter into his decision to recommend an indictment or not that isn't his to make. As Comey said, in that very same statement to American public, "in our system, the prosecutors make the decisions about whether charges are appropriate based on evidence the FBI has helped collect." The F.B.I. collected substantive and substantial evidence of crimes. So, if the prosecutors within the Criminal Division of the Justice Department make the decision whether charges are appropriate, why would Comey attempt to preclude the prosecutors in the Justice Department from making that decision to prosecute? Of course, the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, could have indicted Hillary Clinton, regardless of the decision of the F.B.I. She said, though, that she would abide by the recommendation of the F.B.I., which is not what she said originally. The Attorney General is supposed to exercise independent judgment. Did she know what Comey's decision would be prior to Comey's statement to the public? Sure she knew. She must have known, just as Obama must have known, as he was flying off with Hillary Clinton, campaigning with her the very day Comey was delivering his unprecedented statement to the American public on July 5, 2016. The Director said that no one knew beforehand what he would be saying in his statement--that he had not coordinated his remarks with any one in the Justice Department or with any other part of government. That may be true. We can take that at face value. But, then, that is not to say, that Comey didn't inform the President and the Attorney General what his decision would be. They knew. They must have known, for if they didn't know, the Attorney General would not have expressed confidence in asserting that she would abide by the F.B.I. Director's decision, whatever that decision might be, and the U.S. President, for his part, would not have been encouraged to campaign with Hillary Clinton before he knew, with absolute certainty, what Comey's decision would be. For, how would it look for the President and for the Nation for Obama to be seen campaigning with Hillary Clinton on the very day that the F.B.I. Director asserts that he, the Director of the F.B.I., will be recommending indictment of Hillary Clinton on multiple federal felony charges?Second, Comey, asserts, "In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts. 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." That assertion suggests that the only time a prosecutor will bring a case is when there is specific case precedent for it. That is false. Precedent is always a great thing to have. It makes a conviction virtually certain. But, it is very rare  for a prosecutor to find two cases that have essentially identical facts. Rather, a prosecutor looks to see whether a given set of facts comply with the elements of a crime as set forth in statute. If they do, that is a sufficient basis to seriously consider bringing charges against an individual. But, again, whether the Criminal Division of the Justice Department chooses to prosecute or not, that is a decision for the Criminal Division, together with the Attorney General, to make. That is not a matter for the F.B.I. to decide because, again, the F.B.I. would not be prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division of the Justice Department has responsibility for that.Third, Comey stresses the lack of finding intentional or willful misconduct by Hillary Clinton in the mishandling of classified Government information as a ground for not recommending indictment. That assertion doesn't follow from the litany of damning evidence he presents to the public in his statement. But, be that as it may, the Statute, U.S.C. § 793, “Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information”  doesn't require that intentional or willful misconduct be present as part of the crime, "gross negligence" is sufficient--a lesser standard. Comey's failure to even mention "gross negligence"--curiously, he does say, in his statement, that, Clinton was "extremely careless" in her handling of classified government information, which is essentially the same thing as "gross negligence"--illustrates sloppiness in Comey's remarks against recommending indictment of Clinton on federal criminal charges, and that sloppiness stands in stark and marked contrast to the cogency, the clarity, the precision in his detailing of Clinton's misconduct in that very same statement. One can only suspect that the Director of the F.B.I. intended for the American public--and certainly for attorneys--to see through the charade, to recognize that the F.B.I. has been compromised but that he feels, just the same, the need--perhaps for his own legacy--to let the public know that he had no choice in the matter--that the F.B.I., as with the entirety of the Executive Branch, does not serve the public--that something sinister and profane--even evil--has taken over our Government.Regardless, Comey’s statement to the American people, in its totality, makes very clear what he thinks of Hillary Clinton’s conduct as Secretary of State. The portrait the Director of the F.B.I. has painted of Hillary Clinton, for the American People's purview, is not a flattering one.So, another logical inference to draw from Comey’s July 5, 2016 statement to the American people is that the Director believes Hillary Rodham Clinton’s behavior as Secretary of State is morally reprehensible, and that Clinton is morally unfit to hold any position of responsibility in Government—least of all the position of President of the United States.Yet, Barack Obama continues to sing his praises of Clinton and at one and the same time casts aspersions on Trump. There is to be seen a marked inconsistency between what the public is to gather from Comey’s statement to the American people about Clinton’s conduct and what the President, Barack Obama, would have the American people believe about Clinton. Given that inconsistency, a rational person can and should dismiss, out-of-hand, Obama’s negative statements against Trump, as those statements are facially nonsensical in light of Obama’s support for a person who could not obtain employment with the F.B.I. had Clinton desired to do so because she is likely a criminal and she is certainly a security risk.In fact, Hillary Clinton would have a devil of a time securing a job with any federal agency given, one, the fact of a lengthy, intensive, and comprehensive investigation into her actions as a Cabinet Level Official of the federal Government; two, given the F.B.I.’s damning report against her and; and, three, given the fact that she is a security risk.Of course, Barack Obama has a vested interest in Hillary Clinton, for he is interested in seeing the continuation of his legacy. James Comey, though, has no vested interest in a Clinton candidacy and he certainly has no desire to support a likely criminal for President of the United States.The continuation of Obama’s legacy is something Hillary Clinton intends to promote. That legacy is something Donald Trump has no intention of promoting. None of this seems to trouble Obama, for he continues to sing his praises of Clinton and consistently maintains she is fit to serve as U.S. President. But, then, the American public should not really be surprised; nor should the public put stock in what Barack Obama has to say about Clinton. After all, Obama has, through Executive Order, made it easier for convicted felons to gain employment with the Federal Government.See, for example, the New York Post article, titled, "Obama makes it easier for felons to become government workers." That should tell the American public all it needs to know of the true worth of Obama’s remarks concerning who is and who isn’t capable of serving as President of the United States.But, it isn’t Obama that the American people need long concern themselves with. He has done his damage to this Country. One would think the American people, who voted for him, would have learned from their mistakes. For, one tacit assumption can be drawn from his remarks, as he supports Clinton and attacks Trump.A vote for Clinton is a vote for the extension of the Administrations of both Obama and Bill Clinton. Beyond the obviousness of that assertion, it should trouble any American to elect to the highest Office in the Land, a person who likely would not—indeed, probably could not—be hired at the lowest General Schedule pay Grade of the Federal Government were she to apply for a job with the Federal Government; for, a person who applies for a job with the Federal Government must undergo an F.B.I. investigation.It beggars belief that any federal agency or department would hire a person whom the F.B.I. had investigated for serious violations of federal law, regardless of the outcome of those investigation, notwithstanding Obama’s Executive Order, making it easier for criminals to secure employment in the federal Government. It is by the mere fact that the F.B.I., armed with substantive and substantial evidence of Hillary Clinton’s criminal wrongdoing, and it is by predicate acts that gave the Bureau jurisdiction to investigate Hillary Clinton at all, that Americans should think long and hard before supporting Hillary Clinton for U.S. President.Did the F.B.I. investigate Clinton for any other crimes? Is there a legitimate basis for concluding that Clinton broke any other federal laws? Did Hillary Clinton likely commit the most serious crime that any American citizen can be charged with? That is the topic of discussion in Part 2 of this article and in succeeding articles._________________________________________

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: A QUESTION OF TREASON

PART TWO OF TWO PARTS

ALL ELSE MAY BE FORGIVEN: THE CRIME OF TREASON CANNOT! AND THE SIN OF TREACHERY TO GOD AND COUNTRY MUST NOT!THE INFERNO CANTO XXXIICIRCLE NINE: COCYTUS ROUND TWO: ANTENORAThe Treacherous to CountryAt the bottom of the well Dante finds himself on a huge frozen lake. This is COCYTUS, the NINTH CIRCLE, the fourth and last great water of Hell, and here, fixed in the ice, each according to his guilt are punished sinners guilty of TREACHERY AGAINST THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE BOUND BY SPECIAL TIES.The ice is divided into four concentric rings marked only by the different positions of the damned within the ice. This is Dante’s symbolic equivalent of the final guilt. The treacheries of these souls were denials of love (which is God) and of all human warmth. Only the remorseless dead center of the ice will serve to express their natures. As they denied God’s love, so are they furthest removed from the light and warmth of His Sun. As they denied all human ties, so are they bound only by the unyielding ice. ~Ciardi, John; Alighieri, Dante; MacAllister, Archibald. The Inferno (Signet Classics) Penguin Publishing Group

DOES HILLARY CLINTON’S MISCONDUCT EXTEND TO TREASON AGAINST THE UNITED STATES AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE?

Hillary Rodham Clinton is unfit to serve as President of the United States. In fact Hillary Rodham Clinton is unfit to serve as a federal Government official in any capacity of responsibility. These two straightforward assertions are not suppositions. They are valid and logical inferences drawn from several incontrovertible facts.One, concrete evidence supports a finding Hillary Rodham Clinton had, during her tenure as Secretary of State, a Cabinet level position in the Obama Administration, either intentionally or through gross negligence, mishandled classified Government information. Doing so constitutes a serious breach of federal law, amounting to a felony if convicted.Two, concrete evidence supports a finding that Hillary Rodham Clinton had knowingly obstructed justice by lying to federal officers engaged in the legitimate criminal investigation of Clinton’s conduct. This is a serious breach of federal law, amounting to a felony if convicted.Three, concrete evidence supports a finding that Hillary Clinton engaged in an ongoing practice of corruption, having used the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Foundation as a conduit for the selling of favors through the Department of State—a high level component of the Executive Branch of Government—to wealthy, prominent, and powerful individuals, and to multinational corporations, and to non-governmental organizations (“NGO’s”), and to foreign governments, some clearly unfriendly to the U.S. and to U.S., interests in exchange for hard cold cash. Bribery is a serious breach of federal law, amounting to a felony if convicted.Conviction on any one of the above mentioned crimes is sufficient to send a person to federal prison for several years.The mere possibility that a person has engaged in any one or more of the above crimes raises serious doubt about that person’s ability to serve this Country, and about that person’s character, namely and specifically, that person’s honesty, integrity, sincerity, sense of values, and willingness to sacrifice his or her personal needs and desires and wishes to the more sacred needs of duty to Country, duty to our Country’s Constitution and to its system of laws, and duty to our citizenry; and that duty of service does not extend to the citizenry of other Countries, contrary to what the present U.S. President, Barack Obama, says and what Hillary Clinton also ascribes to.But, let us consider whether Hillary Rodham Clinton, in her seeming service to the American people as Secretary of State, transgressed in any other way. Let us consider whether Hillary Clinton committed a crime so serious, so ignoble, and so heinous, that every other crime pales in comparison and significance. Let us consider whether evidence supports a finding that Hillary Rodham Clinton’s wrongful conduct, as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration, amounts to a crime directed against the very Sovereignty of this Nation, against this Nation’s Constitution, and against the citizens of the United States.Let us in fact ask this question: apart from likely committing serious felonies during her tenure as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration that have been detailed, did Hillary Clinton likely commit the most heinous crime of all—a crime so horrific that no one, from either political Party, will talk openly about it; that no one in either political Party will even speculate about? Did Hillary Clinton commit treason against this Nation? Is there a basis, in either the U.S. Constitution or federal Statute, or both, to indict Hillary Clinton on one or multiple counts of treason? And, may we not consider, concomitantly, that, apart from considering whether Hillary Rodham Clinton committed the crime of Treason, under our Constitution and under Federal Law, did she not also break God’s law, and commit the cardinal sin of treachery to Country?Now, to be sure, the Arbalest Quarrel is not the first party to consider the issue of treason in relation to Hillary Clinton’s conduct as Secretary of State. Some commentators and some websites have heretofore broached the subject of treason in connection with Clinton’s conduct as Secretary of State. Indeed, some commentators and some websites have even asserted, categorically, that Hillary Clinton did commit treason. But—and this is an important but—it is one thing to call a person a “traitor,” as rhetorical hyperbole, and this is more often the case than not. It is quite another to apply the term, ‘traitor,’ to a person from a legal standpoint, with all the consequences that such assertion constitutes. And, it is from the legal perspective—and not from the matter-of-fact, colloquial, rhetorical, man-in-the-street standpoint and perspective—that we look at treason here, that we consider the legal grounds, if any, for legitimately, realistically, and appropriately positing a charge of treason on Hillary Rodham Clinton.In undertaking this investigation into the merits of bringing a charge of treason against Hillary Clinton, we must always bear in mind that the worst citizens among us, along with the best, do have and should have, that protection afforded all citizens of the United States, under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says clearly, cogently, succinctly:“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense." The Sixth Amendment guarantee holds true for me; it holds true for you; and it holds true for Hillary Rodham Clinton. It holds true for all citizens of the United States.The American citizen’s natural right to defend him or herself against a criminal charge levied against that citizen is a right no less to be honored and safeguarded than the natural right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, as codified in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and no less to be honored and safeguarded than the natural right of an American citizen to speak his or her mind openly and freely, as codified in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, uninhibited by and irrespective of the current penchant for “political and social correctness” as thrust on us all because of the personal peculiar sensitivity of a few; and no less to be honored and safeguarded than the natural right of the American citizen to keep and bear arms, as codified under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Also, when looking at the possibility that an American citizen’s conduct amounts to a crime—whether considered relatively minor in scope such as an inoffensive infraction, or one codified in our law that is so horrific that we consider it, as well, a mortal sin—a crime against nature and against God’s strictures—we must consider one’s conduct from the standpoint of federal and State statute and from the standpoint of individual State Constitutions and from the standpoint of the U.S. Constitution.Our criminal codes, whether enacted by State Legislatures or by the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Constitution, and the Constitutions of the various States establish, one, the fact that certain conduct amounts to a punishable offense; two, the specific elements necessary to establish a prima facie case for the existence of a punishable offense; and, three, the penalties for conviction on that offense. In other words, our system of laws pertaining to criminal behavior requires the codification in the U.S. Constitution or the in the Constitutions of the States or in federal or State statute saying that particular behavior is criminal.So, under the U.S. Constitution and under State Constitutions, and under our federal and State system of criminal law, it is not sufficient a particular species of behavior be deemed reprehensible in order to exact a penalty for the commission of it. That is to say, if a person’s conduct isn’t statutorily prohibited, then that person’s conduct does not rise to the level of a crime, upon which a person can be charged and tried in a court of competent jurisdiction, and, if found guilty, assessed a penalty once the prohibited conduct, for which the person has been formally charged and tried, has been finally, and firmly, established and adjudicated.We point this out in exacting detail here for a reason. We do this because the discussion of treason, from a legal and philosophical perspective is not so easy to understand and to fathom as some might think.The subject of treason, seemingly simple to understand in a straightforward colloquial sense, is actually quite opaque, difficult to comprehend and to apply in the legal sense. And, it is the legal sense of “treason” you must come to know, that you must become familiar with, that you must be receptive to and come to appreciate that is important here, even if the subject matter is abstruse.That can’t be helped. Indeed our founders struggled with the very notion and concept of ‘treason’ and we’ll explain why and how in upcoming articles.So, the rhetorical use of the term, ‘treason,’ as applied, by some, to Clinton’s conduct as Secretary of State, does nothing to help us to effectively defeat Hillary Clinton on that ground. So saying, doesn’t make it so. Simply calling Hillary Clinton a traitor does not, in the mere assertion, serve to persuade anyone who is predisposed to see Clinton as someone suitable to lead this Country that she isn’t.Rather, to call Clinton a “traitor” in the absence of a good legal ground for so saying simply informs those who support Clinton in her quest for the U.S. Presidency, that those who call Clinton a traitor are wrong-headed. Better then not to use the term, ‘treason,’ or ‘traitor’ in reference to Hillary Clinton at all. For, one simply displays his or her own ineptitude. So, we must be cautious. And, at worst, so saying opens one up to a defamation action. So, we must be circumspect and careful.In the next few articles, The Arbalest Quarrel shall discuss treason, from a legal, historical, and philosophical perspective. If there is a legal basis for charging Hillary Rodham Clinton with the crime of treason, we will present the grounds for doing so. In the articles that follow we will explore the legal basis, if any, for doing just that.[separator type="medium" style="normal" align="left"margin-bottom="25" margin_top="5"] Copyright © 2016 Roger J Katz (Towne Criour), Stephen L. D’Andrilli (Publius) All Rights Reserved.