Columnist Jennifer Rubin celebrated the findings of a Justice Department investigation that found no criminal conduct by former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and chided national media for not reporting her exoneration more thoroughly.
“The bottom line: Clinton committed no crimes,” Rubin wrote in the Washington Post on Sunday. “Let’s not forget the Justice Department itself went along with a baseless investigation. DOJ, as even [James] Comey did, should have the decency to affirm publicly the absence of criminal conduct. However, this is the Trump Justice Department, so Clinton should not hold her breath.”
A recent DOJ inquiry sought to find if Clinton committed any crimes when she deleted thousands of unflattering e-mails off a private server in her home as she ran for president in 2016.
President Trump and Republicans seized on an FBI investigation into the incident, pointing to it as an example of how “corrupt” she and her husband, President Bill Clinton are.
“Simply put, Trump used the Justice Department to conduct a baseless investigation of a political opponent, and no one seems to have been held accountable,” Rubin wrote.
Clinton celebrated the findings of the DOJ investigation in a tweet Sunday.
This week, the Justice Department determined that the lies that were peddled about me, my family, & @ClintonFdn are without merit.
I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone that stuck with us while we continued to focus on the work. Let’s keep going.
https://t.co/PfhqybPaWy— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 12, 2020
“This week, the Justice Department determined that the lies that were peddled about me, my family and the Clinton Foundation are without merit,” she said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone that stuck with us while we continued to focus on the work. Let’s keep going.”
Rubin, a frequent Trump critic in her columns, placed some onus on what she called “legitimate” media outlets for not spending more time reporting on Clinton’s exoneration.
“The coverage of her exoneration has been minimal,” Rubin complained. “The number of stories such as Clinton cleared in witch-hunt probe or Right-wing accusations debunked has been underwhelming. The legitimate media does not seem interested in asking Trump or other Republicans to acknowledge that their accusations were baseless. You would think legitimate media outlets at the very least would self-reflect on their coverage that often treated long-ago disproved accusations as still unsettled.”
Trump often attacks the media, members of which he says are out to get him, prop up Democrats, and spread “fake news.”
