With one deleted, one slip of the mouse clicker, Hillary Clinton may have ended her 2016 presidential run. Then again, running for office may be the least of he worries one year from now.
Now that the former secretary of state admitted to erasing over 31,800 emails - all from a personal address used in lieu of the 'state.gov' account government officials are encouraged to utilize - reporters and House Republicans alike are chomping at the bit to uncover what Clinton may have hidden. Clinton on Wednesday said she's already turned over 30,490 emails deemed official to the State Department, though sifting through the documents could take months.
At the urging of Republicans last year, the State Department asked Clinton for any emails that may pertain to the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. Clinton said she found 62,320 messages sent from her personal email while secretary of state.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is one of multiple GOP members tripping over themselves to investigate Clinton's questionable email practices. At least three House committees, including the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, have launched or are also considering probes.
"Those official records must be turned over," said Michael Steele, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, in speaking with Politico. "The Congress -and the American people - have a legal right to these official records, and her current position is unacceptable and unsustainable."
At face value, handling government matters on a personal email address affairs isn't too nefarious; Colin Powell recently said he did the same in the Bush Administration. Clinton's transparency takes a hit when looking over dozens of unfulfilled Freedom of Information Act requests.
The Associated Press filed a federal lawsuit saying the State Department misled the public by never telling them or the court that Clinton kept her own server. FOIA requests were made for Clinton's 'state.gov' account since few had knowledge of business being conducted through her 'clintonemail.com' address.
Gawker is another of multiple media outlets with grievances over Clinton's correspondence. The media outlet found at least two of Clinton's aides similarly used personal emails for agency business. Philippe Reines and Huma Abedin reportedly rank among Clinton's most loyal aides, yet FOIA requests for each's government-issued email addresses were denied; Reines' on the grounds of no records being found and Abedin's for undisclosed reasons.
Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill denied giving Reines a clintonemail.com address but wouldn't reveal if he used a different provider, like Yahoo! or Gmail, nor did he say how Abedin used her Clinton-given address.
But Reines and Abedin aren't government officials. Punishment they receive, if any, would pale in comparison to the Democratic Party's leading presidential candidate. There are three likely once the State Department releases their findings, all dependent on whether Clinton was honest about deleting inconsequential emails.
Clinton goes to jail
Christopher Horner, an attorney who regularly battles with the Obama administration over open record laws, says Clinton could face up to three years in prison if found guilty.
"So long as she retains possession, sole custody, of her server, which obviously was the point of the server, she has greatly reduced her exposure to legal jeopardy unless or until anyone at the other end of correspondence comes out," Horner said in speaking with the Washington Times.
Had the former first lady used her '.gov' email, the White House wouldn't have an issue with transparency and could perform its own investigation. Now, the media and House Republicans will be first in finding any discrepancies.
She loses party support and drops out of the 2016 presidential race
The first Democratic Party presidential primary is just over 10 months from now. Clinton has a lot of work to do between now and then in revitalizing her image.
Whether Clinton drops out depends on what the State Department uncovers. The mood around Democratic ranks is that Clinton has to do an about-face on the issue, though some fear the worst is yet to come.
"Every time we talk about emails, we aren't talking about how to grow the economy and the fact that President Obama has created jobs for the last 60 months straight," said Brady Quirk-Garvan, the Democratic Party chairman in Charleston.
The fact that President Obama is distancing itself from the scandal doesn't bode well for Clinton. At Wednesday's White House brief, spokesman Josh Earnest said Clinton and Obama did exchange emails but did not describe the number of messages. The White House, Earnest said, is "Not particularly interested" in the investigation.
Nothing happens
The Clinton family has been through its share of controversies. First with former President Bill Clinton in office, then with how the Benghazi attackers were handles, and most recently with skepticism around foreign donations to the family's Clinton Foundation.
Yet, Congressional Democrats continue to bank on the Clinton name. With a thin presidential candidate pool, there isn't much difference this time around.
"There is no one else- she's the whole plan," said Sarah Kovner, a leading Democratic donor in New York, in speaking with the New York Times. "She is by far the most experienced and qualified person we could possibly nominate."
An election without Clinton leaves names like Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- MA), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D- NY), and Gov. Jerry Brown (D- CA) among leading nominees. Neither inspires the confidence of Clinton and none carry a bigger profile.
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