Rumor Mill: Hillary Facing Criminal Indictment, Obama 2016 Surprise in the Works

by:  Debra Heine

Opinions on Hillary Clinton's chances in 2016 come in two forms with not much in between: "It ain't happening"  and "Hillary's got it locked in." We may soon find out which one of those prognostications is right.

Washington insiders are saying that the evidence in the FBI's investigation into Clinton's "unique email arrangement" has reached "critical mass." The American Spectator's R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. joins former prosecutor Joe DiGenova in predicting that a decision to indict is coming soon.

The charges will consist of some of the following:
1. Improper disclosure or retention of classified information.
2. Destruction of government records.
3. Lying to federal agents.
4. Lying under oath.
5. Obstruction of justice.

There are those who have told me that the FBI has been engaged in a ruse. And that the Bureau will report it has come across nothing criminal. Then the whole imbroglio is expected to blow over.
But such cynics are in the minority. Most sources have told me the investigation is genuine, serious, and all but completed. One told me that it was completed two months ago. The Bureau has put together a case that as one source put it “is locked up. It is solid.”
In the past, as FBI agent I.C. Smith wrote in his book Inside: A Top G-Man Exposes Spies, Lies, and Bureaucratic Bungling Inside the FBI, the Clintons have benefited from a few corrupt agents, usually in Arkansas. But that was years ago, and in Arkansas. This is the FBI in Washington, at the top where there are plenty of utterly professional law enforcement officials. They believe truth matters and so does the pursuit of justice. “They have been building a case that is unassailable,” one source told me. “It is beyond the case against Petraeus.… It is about the violation of federal statutes.”

An indicted Hillary may try to brazen her way to the finish line, but she could be too damaged by scandal to get elected (even by an unscrupulous Democratic electorate). But if she doesn't make it to the finish line, that leaves the race wide open for all sorts of Democrat chicanery.

Author Richard F. Miniter writes at the American Thinker that President Barack Obama may be "planning a huge surprise for the 2016 election."

So here’s a prediction: if Clinton gets indicted, Michelle Obama gets the Obama team’s nod for the nomination.Can Barack and Michelle pull such a thing off?  No, but the point is that they will think they can.  Remember the confidence, one might even say arrogant confidence, with which they flew off to Copenhagen in order to get the Olympics for Chicago and how flummoxed they were when the IOC gave them the back of their hand?  Remember how confident he was that his eighty-something speeches around the country would produce a groundswell of public opinion in favor of Obamacare?  How certain he was his Cairo apology would have the Middle East running to learn at his knee?   How certain she was of sainthood for insisting upon “healthy” school lunches?  Indeed, just look at how both he and Michelle drip sticky condescension on any of the lesser minds who disagree with them.

A more likely scenario would have Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, with perhaps Michelle Obama as the VP nominee. (Biden recently told reporters that he regrets his decision to drop out of the race and admits to having second thoughts.) Other possibilities for the number two spot include Senator Elizabeth Warren and former governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick.