Hillary Clinton: "There's the Hillary standard and then there's the standard for everybody else"
Indeed.
Hillary Clinton appeared with her presumptive running mate Tim Kaine on 60 Minutes for their first joint interview, and was asked by Scott Pelley about concerns some voters had surrounding her about corruption.
"I will take responsibility for any impression or anything I've ever done that people have legitimate questons about," Clinton started "but I think there's been a concerted effort to convince people…. of something."
"I often feel like there's the Hillary Clinton standard and then there's the standard for everybody else," Clinton continued.
It wasn't just a tone deaf answer, it was a total dodge. Clinton said she was referring to a "double standard" she saw in Republican attacks, not specific charges of impropriety. While Pelley and Clinton suggested the claims of corruption surrounding Clinton were vague (in asking his question Pelley told her than un unidentified voter he spoke with was concerned about her corruption but couldn't explain what it was), that's not the case. There's questions surrounding inappropriate foreign dealings via the Clinton Foundation, for example. Most recently the FBI announced it would not be indicted Hillary Clinton even as the FBI director admitted Clinton was "extremely careless" and would likely have been prosecuted if he were someone else.
It gets better. The standard FBI Director James Comey invoked, involving mes rea, or knowledge of a crime, isn't one Democrats would like to extend to other "criminal justice-involved" individuals. In fact, Democrats torpedoed bipartisan efforts over complaints that requiring mens rea for more crimes might let some white collar criminals who didn't know they were breaking the law get away with it. Better to imprison a hundred innocent people then let one guilty man go free and all that.
Watch the relevant clip here or the whole interview below: