Trump won’t pursue charges against Clinton
Conway says that Trump will not pursue charges against Clinton:
I think when the president-elect who’s also the head of your party … tells you before he’s even inaugurated he doesn’t wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone and content, to the members. Look, I think, he’s thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the president of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign are not among them. I think Hillary Clinton still has to face the fact that a majority of Americans don’t find her to be honest or trustworthy, but if Donald Trump can help her heal, then perhaps that’s a good thing.
Proposes $2 billion Alzheimer’s cure program
Clinton proposes the government spend an extra $2 billion a year to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease before 2025. A briefing on her website says she came up with a proposal to find a cure after consulting with “leading physician-scientists to understand what it would take to rapidly accelerate the progress we are making.”
Top researchers have noted that this is achievable if we make the commitment, marshal the resources, and provide the needed leadership…[Clinton] knows that reaching the goal will involve investments across the drug development cycle, from basic research to applied and translational research to public-private partnerships for clinical research.
Demands Clinton apology
Trump demands an apology from Clinton over her remarks that he is being used for ISIS recruitment.
I demand an apology from Hillary Clinton for the disgusting story she made up about me for purposes of the debate. There never was a video.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2015
Clinton’s comments ‘terrifying’
In response to Clinton’s debate comments about tech and national security:
I would hope that, given the extraordinary capacities that the tech community has and the legitimate needs and questions from law enforcement, that there could be a Manhattan-like project — something that would bring the government and the tech communities together to see they’re not adversaries, they’ve got to be partners…Maybe the backdoor is the wrong door, and I understand what Apple and others are saying about that. I know that law enforcement needs the tools to keep us safe.
Snowden says:
Aaaaaaaaand Hillary just terrified everyone with an internet connection. #DemDebate
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) December 20, 2015
Calls Clinton a liar
In an interview on Meet the Press, Trump calls Clinton a liar.
It’s just another Hillary lie. She lies like crazy about everything — whether it’s trips where she was being gunned down in a helicopter, or an airplane. She’s a liar and everybody knows that.
Later he tweets:
Hillary Clinton lied when she said that "ISIS is using video of Donald Trump as a recruiting tool." This was fact checked by @FoxNews: FALSE
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2015
FBI focuses on ‘gross negligence’
An intelligence source tells Fox News that FBI is now focused on whether there were violations of an Espionage Act subsection pertaining to “gross negligence” in the safekeeping of national defense information. It is a violation for the “lawful possession” of national defense information by a security clearance holder who “through gross negligence,” such as the use of an unsecure computer network, permits the material to be removed or abstracted from its proper, secure location. The section also requires the clearance holder to report any loss, theft or destruction to their superior. The penalty is a fine and/or no more than ten years in jail. The source also says that the FBI are investigating possible obstruction of justice:
If someone knows there is an ongoing investigation and takes action to impede an investigation, for example destruction of documents or threatening of witnesses, that could be a separate charge but still remain under a single case.
Defends Clinton on emails
At the first Democratic debate, Sanders defends Clinton over her email controversy.
Clinton: I’ve taken responsibility for it. I did say it was a mistake. I have been as transparent as I know to be, turning over 55,000 pages of my e-mails, asking that they be made public. [I’d rather spend my time talking about] the issues that matter to the American people
Sanders: Let me say — let me say something that may not be great politics. But I think the secretary is right, and that is that the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.
Clinton: Thank you. Me, too. Me, too.
The two then exchange a friendly handshake.
Opposes TTP
In an interview with Woodruff on PBS NewsHour, Clinton says she opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, a deal she backed while she was Secretary of State. She says it fails to create good jobs, raise wages and advance national security.
What I know about it, as of today I’m not in favor of what I’ve learned about it…I still believe in the goal of a strong and fair trade agreement in the Pacific as part of a broader strategy both at home and abroad, just as I did when I was Secretary of State. I appreciate the hard work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the strides they made. But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have seen, I don’t believe this agreement has met it.
Claim: Most transparent person in US history
At a town hall in Iowa, Clinton claims she is the most transparent person in U.S. history.
I have gone further than anybody that I’m aware of in American history. Now it’s not a long history since we haven’t had emails that long–as long as we’ve had them, I’ve gone longer and farther to be as transparent as possible. Nobody else has done that. [I’m] a little embarrassed that the emails are so boring.
More emails found
Despite Clinton saying she had provided all work emails from her time as secretary of state, the Department of Defense uncovers a chain of emails between Clinton and General Petraeus. The exchange of ten emails, which mainly covers personnel issues, starts shortly before Clinton enters office and continues during her first days as the top U.S. diplomat in January and February of 2009. The Petraeus exchange also shows she started using the clintonemail.com account by January 2009, contradiciting her campaign’s claim that she used a private BlackBerry email account for her first two months at the department before setting up her clintonemail.com account in March 2009. The campaign gave her use of the Blackberry as the reason for not handing over any emails from those two months to the State Department.
Approved Abedin’s special status
Documents obtained by Judical Watch say that despite denials, Clinton approved paperwork that changed her top aide Huma Abedin’s job status to “special government employee” — a classification that allowed Abedin to work for an outside consulting firm and the Clinton Foundation at the same time she was advising Clinton at State. The Clinton Campaign says the document wasn’t the actual approval of the SGE status but only approved the title change that came with Abedin’s transition. Abedin’s lawyers have maintained that she did nothing wrong, noting that government workers have moved to SGE status before. Clinton, in an interview with MSNBC on Sept. 4, said she “was not directly involved” with Abedin’s job arrangement.
Reporter: Do you think [Donald Trump] had a point in raising the question of whether it was appropriate for her to be taking a State Department salary and also be paid by an outside company closely associated with your husband, by you?
Clinton: Well, I was not directly involved in that, but everything that she did was approved under the rules as they existed by the State Department.
Proposes $250 monthly prescription drug cap
Clinton proposes a $250 monthly cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs as well as a plan to encourage the development and use of generic drugs and to end pharmaceutical companies’ ability to write off consumer-directed advertising as a business expense. The monthly cap would limit what insurance companies could ask patients to pay for drugs that treat chronic or serious medical conditions. She also wants Medicare to be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over drug prices and require more generous rebates. Consumers would also be allowed to purchase drugs from other countries, where medicine is often less expensive, so long as sufficient safety standards are in place.
We need to protect hard-working Americans here at home from excessive costs. Too often these drugs cost a fortune…That is bad actors making a fortune off people’s misfortune.
Opposes Keystone pipeline
Clinton says she opposes the Keystone XL pipeline:
I don’t think we need to have a pipeline bringing very dirty oil, exploiting the tar sands in western Canada, across our border…I don’t think it’s in the best interest of what we need to do to combat climate change…I thought this would be decided by now, and therefore I could tell you whether I agree or disagree. But it hasn’t been decided and I feel now I’ve got a responsibility to you and to voters who ask me about this.
FBI recovers personal emails
A source says the FBI has recovered an unknown number of Clinton’s personal emails from her server. Clinton has said that she deleted 30,000 personal emails out of 60,000 total mails, and that most of the personal mails concerned planning for Chelsea’s wedding, yoga routines and condolence messages. The bureau’s probe is expected to last at least several more months.
Disputes email discrepancy report
After a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board, Clinton is questioned about a Washington Post story that says the State Department’s request for her emails was prompted entirely by the discovery that Clinton had exclusively used a private e-mail system. This came three months before, and contradicts Clinton’s account, which is that agency officials asked her for her emails as part of a benign, general record-keeping effort that included mails from other secretaries of state.
I don’t know that. I can’t answer that. All I know is that they sent the same letter to everybody. That’s my understanding…You’re telling me something I don’t know [about the three month discrepancy] All I know is what I have said. What I have said is it was allowed. The State Department has confirmed that. The same letter went to, as far as I know, my predecessors, and I’m the one who said, ‘Hey, I’ll be glad to help.
Five month’s emails missing
Judicial Watch President Fitton says mails sent by Clinton and received from her on a private server are missing over periods totaling five months, beginning when she took office as secretary of state in February 2009. Fittons suggests Clinton lied under oath when she said all her emails had been turned over and it suggested government officials had not turned over everything they were required to deliver. Fitton says other State Department officials, including the one in charge of email production, Patrick Kennedy, previously had been informed of the five-month gap.
No indication server was ‘wiped’
Platte River Networks says that even though Clinton deleted her emails form the server, the server itself was not wiped of data. The statement indicates that 31,000 personal e-mails that Clinton has said were deleted could be recovered. Company:
Platte River has no knowledge of the server being wiped. All the information we have is that the server wasn’t wiped.
Second review confirms classified mails
A special intelligence review by the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency of two emails that Clinton received on her personal account while secretary of state — including one about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program — supports a finding by the inspector general for the intelligence agencies that the emails were marked “Top Secret,” when Clinton received them. Clinton’s campaign disagrees with the conclusion and notes that agencies within the government often have different views of what should be considered classified:
Our hope remains that these releases continue without being hampered by bureaucratic infighting among the intelligence community, and that the releases continue to be as inclusive and transparent as possible.
State Department spokesperson:
Classification is rarely a black and white question, and it is common for the State Department to engage internally and with our interagency partners to arrive at the appropriate decision. Very often both the State Department and the intelligence community acquire information on the same matter through separate channels. Thus, there can be two or more separate reports and not all of them based on classified means. At this time, any conclusion about the classification of the documents in question would be premature.
Paid staffer to maintain private email server
After a campaign appearance in New Hampshire, Clinton says she and her family paid State Department technology specialist Pagliano to maintain her private email server. The Clintons paid Pagliano $5,000 for computer services before he joined the State Department, and after he joined. A campaign official says the arrangement with Pagliano ensured that taxpayer dollars were not spent on a private server. Clinton:
With respect to personal services that he provided to me and my family, we obviously paid for those services and did so because, during a period of time, we continued to need his technical assistance. And I think that’s in the public record.
Campaign spokesman:
Bryan was hired by the Clinton family as a consultant in order to help out periodically with the management of the system in Chappaqua that hosted the family’s emails.
State: 150 emails upgraded to ‘classified’ status
The State Department says 150 of 7000 pages of emails it will release today from clinton’s server have had their status upgraded to ‘classified’. Spokesperson:
The information we’ve upgraded was not marked classified at the time the emails were sent…That’s our estimation right now.