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BREAKING NEWS: HILLARY CLINTON ISN’T GETTING INDICTED. HERE’S WHY.

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HILLARY CLINTON ISN’T GETTING INDICTED.  HERE’S WHY.
BY IAN MILLHISER of THINKPROGRESS NEWS 

Tuesday morning, FBI Director James Comey announced that his agency’s investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s handling of a private email server while she was Secretary of State has come to a close. He also added that the FBI will recommend against criminal charges for Secretary Clinton, stating that “no reasonable prosecutor” could determine that charges were warranted here. It’s an announcement that will surprise no one who is familiar with the underlying law and ordinary Justice Department practices in a case such as this one.

Nevertheless, in part because calls for a Clinton indictment were amplified by Republicans at the highest levels, and in part because of what Josh Marshall described as the media-industrial complex’s quest for “wingnut page views,” the idea that Clinton may face criminal charges has lingered for months. Here’s what you need to know about why such charges were never a realistic possibility.

Clinton, like her two most recent predecessors Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, maintained at least two email accounts: one specifically set up to receive classified information and the other for other communications. Clinton’s non-classified email was hosted on a private server (as opposed to Powell’s non-classified email address, which was an AOL account), while the classified email could only be accessed if Clinton complied with a byzantine array of security rules.

Clinton says that the emails she received at her non-classified address “were not marked classified,” although she acknowledges that “there are disagreements among agencies on what should have been perhaps classified retroactively.” Government officials also confirm that “none of the emails the State Department redacted, or any other emails made public, contained classification markings at the time they were sent.” Although the FBI determined that 110 emails did contain classified information.

This matters because of a legal concept called mens rea. As a general rule, most crimes require prosecutors to prove that an individual acted with a particular state of mind before they can be convicted of a specific crime. Most federal laws dealing with classified information require someone to “knowingly” violate that law in order to sustain a conviction. Thus, Clinton cannot be charged with transmitting or receiving classified information based on that fact alone. She had to have acted with knowledge that specific information was classified when it was transmitted. There is little, if any, evidence that Clinton possessed this state of mind.
There is, however, one law which does require a mens rea other than knowledge in order to sustain a conviction. Under this provision,

Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer—Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

Yet, as ABC News Legal Analyst Dan Abrams explains, several key words in this provision also weigh against charging Clinton. For one thing, a 1941 Supreme Court decision interprets the phrase “relating to the national defense” to require “‘intent or reason to believe that the information to be obtained is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation.’ This requires those prosecuted to have acted in bad faith.” That’s a high bar — there’s no apparent evidence that Clinton had reason to believe that her use of a private server would cause information to be obtained that advantaged a foreign nation or that would have caused injury to the United States.

Additionally, the phrase “gross negligence” also requires prosecutors to clear a high bar — “a lack of care that demonstrates reckless disregard for the safety or lives of others, which is so great it appears to be a conscious violation of other people’s rights to safety.”
Indeed, as Comey noted in his announcement, the FBI could not “find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts” as “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 interference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice.”

“We do not see those things here,” he added.
Setting aside the bare language of the law, there’s also a very important practical reason why officials in Clinton’s position are not typically indicted. The security applied to classified email systems is simply absurd. For this reason, a former CIA general counsel told the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, “’it’s common’ that people end up using unclassified systems to transmit classified information.” “’It’s inevitable, because the classified systems are often cumbersome and lots of people have access to the classified e-mails or cables.’ People who need quick guidance about a sensitive matter often pick up the phone or send a message on an open system. They shouldn’t, but they do.”

Indicting Clinton would require the Justice Department to apply a legal standard that would endanger countless officials throughout the government, and that would make it impossible for many government offices to function effectively.

VANDERBURGH COUNTY FELONY CHARGES

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Below is a list of the felony cases filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.

Amanda Dawn Sanders Operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator, Level 6 felony

Monay Shardai Steverson Dealing in methamphetamine, Level 2 felony

Dealing in cocaine, Level 2 felony

Dealing in a Schedule I controlled substance, Level 2 felony

Dealing in marijuana, Level 6 felony

Hector Rafael Villeda Rugama Dealing in methamphetamine, Level 2 felony

Dealing in cocaine, Level 2 felony

Dealing in Schedule I controlled substance, Level 2 felony

Dealing in marijuana, Level 6 felony

Ronald Edward Lewis Dealing in methamphetamine, Level 2 felony

Dealing in methamphetamine, Level 2 felony

Unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, Level 4 felony

Possession of a narcotic drug, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Level 6 felony

Leaving the scene of an accident with serious bodily injury, Level 6 felony

Unlawful possession of a syringe, Level 6 felony

Possession of a controlled substance, Level 6 felony

Jodi Lynn Harris Battery against a public safety official, Level 6 felony

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

False informing, Class B misdemeanor

Michael Joseph Walker Theft of a firearm, Level 6 felony

Carrying a handgun without a license, Class A misdemeanor

Resisting law enforcement, Class A misdemeanor

Hot Jobs in Evansville

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Kirkland’s Home  458 reviews - Evansville, IN
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JULY 5 “READERS FORUM”

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WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

“IS IT TRUE” will be posted on this coming Wednesday

Todays READERS POLL question is:Would you support a Trump and Pence ticket for President and Vice President of the United States?

Please take time and read our newest feature articles entitled “HOT JOBS” and “LOCAL SPORTS” posted in our sections.

If you would like to advertise in the CCO please contact us City-County Observer@live.com.

Copyright 2015 City County Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribute

COA Reverses Lifetime Sex Offender Registration, Upholds Ban From School Property

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Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a man challenging his lifetime registration as a sex offender that the law as applied to him violates the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition against ex post facto laws. But he lost a similar challenge to the unlawful-entry statute that prohibits him from entering school property.

Richard McVey was convicted of molesting his half-sister for acts that occurred between October 1998 and August 2001. He served eight years in the DOC, but returned in 2012 after violating his probation. He was then released to parole in 2014. At the same time, he challenged his convictions seeking post-conviction relief, and was partially successful. The PCR court vacated two counts, leaving only Count III, Class C felony child molesting, in which McVey admitted that his stepsister had masturbated him sometime in 2001, before the requirement for lifetime registration took effect that July.

Then McVey filed two petitions: one seeking to be removed from the lifetime sex-offender registry, and one asking to be exempt from the unlawful-entry statute because he was convicted of child molesting before that statute went into effect. The unlawful-entry statute makes it a crime for a person who is a registered sex offender and who is convicted of child molesting to enter school property. The trial court denied both petitions.

At his trial, although McVey did not testify as to when the masturbation incident occurred, a state police officer did, saying during an interview with McVey, McVey admitted the incident occurred approximately 12 to 14 months prior. That would have placed it between March and May 2001, before the lifetime registration amendment took effect.

Thus, McVey must only register for 10 years, the law in effect at the time the crime was committed, the COA held. His 10-year registration period started when he was released from prison on July 15, 2011, and is extended for the 730 days he was incarcerated for violating probation, Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik wrote.

The judges found using the seven-factor test outlined in Mendoza-Martinez that the unlawful-entry statute, which took effect July 1, 2015, is not an ex post facto law as applied to him. McVey wants to obtain his commercial driver’s license from Blue River Career Programs, but this is considered a school property. McVey chose to attend this school after the statute went into effect in July, Vaidik noted. In addition, the judges found factor 7, which addresses whether the statute appears excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned, is non-punitive as applied to him as McVey was convicted of a crime against a child.

The case is Richard J. McVey v. State of Indiana, 73A04-1601-CR-12.

DNR launches new license purchasing system

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Buying licenses online will be easier and more convenient for hunters, anglers and trappers thanks to a new system that the DNR will launch this week.

The new system at INHuntFish.com requires customers 18 and older to create an online account. Customers can use the account to purchase their licenses, purchase or redeem gift certificates, acquire their Harvest Information Program (HIP) number, and make donations. Having information saved to an account makes purchasing future licenses much easier for yourself and for any children under age 18 that you list as an associate. If you’re already a DNR customer, use your Customer ID located on the top left of your license to log in.

The improvements include:

• Free reprints of licenses.
• The ability to save a license to your smartphone through the print feature. (Electronic copies of licenses are now valid.)
• An option to print all valid licenses on one piece of paper, no matter when they were purchased.
• The ability to view your active licenses and licenses that have expired in the last 30 days.
• License options adjusted for your age, residency and hunter education status.
• Quick links for hunting, fishing and trapping regulations, the Wild Bulletin e-newsletter, and social media accounts for the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife.
• A “shopping cart” feature that allows you to see what you are buying.
• Email receipts.

The system accepts Visa, Mastercard and Discover.

A future version will include the CheckIN Game feature that allows hunters to use computers and mobile devices to check in their harvest through their account.

An access fee will offset the cost of the upgraded system. The fee is $1 per license, plus $1 and 2 percent of the total on each license. For example, if you use INHuntFish.com to purchase an annual resident fishing license, your cost would be $19.34 ($17 for the license, plus $1 for the license, plus $1.34).

No fee is charged for donations, gift certificates, registering for HIP, or checking in game.

LAST CHANCE FOR OUR JUNE BIRTHDAY WINNERS TO COLLECT GIFT!

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LAST CHANCE FOR WINNERS OF THE AUTUMN BARN FARMS POPCORN JUNE BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY DRAWING

When Chris Wintner and his wife, Kristy, settled in Evansville after leaving military service, he was disappointed to learn that Uncle Mark’s Popcorn had burned down and was not being rebuilt. Chris had always looked forward to his family sharing a tin of Uncle Mark’s popcorn during the holiday, the way he had done when he was younger. That gave the veteran an idea. He decided to build a business that would feature the same kind of high-quality gourmet popcorn that Uncle Mark’s had offered.

That was in 2012. Now Chris and Kristy are the proud proprietors of Autumn Barn Farms Popcorn. They operate the business at 1442 N. Green River Rd. with the help of their two daughters. They offer 27 different gourmet flavors in three different sized bags and refillable tins that range from a half gallon to three-and-a half gallons. A discount is offered to weddings and parties of 50 or more. Chris offers an everyday discount of 10% to his fellow veterans and seniors.

City-County Observer is proud to advertise all veteran-owned businesses, but we are particularly pleased to announce that Autumn Barn Farms Popcorn will be awarding 30 tins each month to lucky winners chosen randomly from those whose birthdays appear on our site for each month. Please send in names and birthdays of your friends and family members, so they can have a chance to win. Winners will receive a half gallon tin valued at $10, that can be refilled for $7. affWe will award 15 tins for this month and will announce 15 winners twice in July and the following months.

The following Popcorn flavors available are: SWEETS: Kettle, Caramel,  Pina Colada, Cherry, Orange, Grape, Banana , Strawberry, Blueberry, Watermelon,  Cinnamon ,Tootie Frootie and Toffee.  SAVORY:  Butter, Ranch, Bbq. Chicago Mis, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon Cheddar, White Cheddar, Creamy Dill,  Siriraca, Buffalo Breach, Prizza,Honey Mustard and Chill.

So go to Autumn Barn Popcorn Store and show your identity and tell them you won it in the CCO.

They are::  Bob DeGraffenreid, Salome LaMarch, Steven Pirnat, Evelyn Maveety, Marcia Bivins, Tiffany Nunn Stepto, Robert Money, Nathan Bayne, China Phelps, Stan Levco, Jamie Fuchs, Joe Templeton, Breck Bitter, Chris Lantaff, and Melanie Bozsa

Adopt A Pet

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 5-yr-old female spayed longhaired tuxedo cat. $30 Her $30 adoption fee includes her spay, microchip, vaccines, and more. Call (812) 426-2563 or visit www.vhslifesaver.org for adoption information!