Originally Posted By: Matter-eater Man
lol, what would she be charged with? Breaking a guideline? Having both an Ipad and a blackberry?


From Thompson-Reuters (a leading legal research and news site, not a 'partisan bs' blog, btw):
  • While Clinton claims she violated no law, this may be premature...

    In addition to violating a State Department rule, her admitted destruction of over 30,000 emails raises serious questions of violation of the statutes. She later turned over 50,000 pages emails, but she did that with hard copy, not in electronic format, so they are a lot harder to search. Also, hard copy printouts do not include electronic “metadata,” which can provide crucial forensic evidence....

    Even though the law may not require a person to create a document, it is the crime (18 U.S.C. §1519) to destroy a document to prevent it from being subpoenaed. The Government’s burden of proof is light. The Department of Justice manual advises that §1591 makes prosecution much easier because it covers “any matters” or “’in relation to or contemplation of’ any matters.” It adds, “No corrupt persuasion is required.” Section 1519 imposes up to 20 years imprisonment for what commentators call, “anticipatory obstruction of justice.” The Federal prosecutor does not have to establish that any investigation is pending. As one criminal defense expert explained, the prosecutor “need only prove that the defendant shredded the documents, at least in part, to make life more difficult for future investigators, if and when they eventually appear.” As the court explained in United States v. Ionia Mgmt., S.A., 526 F.Supp.2d 319, 329 (D.Conn.2007), “In comparison to other obstruction statutes, § 1519 by its terms does not require the defendant to be aware of a federal proceeding, or even that a proceeding be pending.”