You really gotta hate the internet — if you have anything to hide, that is.
Suppose, as a hypothetical, you have designs on the White House, and you’ve been caught out not only for using a private email account to conduct government business, which is a blatant breach of the Federal Records Act, but for running said account off an internet server registered to your family home.
If you found yourself in such a bind, the last thing in the world you’d want is for someone to scare up a video from the bowels of the internet in which you abjured the use of email because of its potential to inflict damage on you because of the many times you’d been investigated. If nothing else, such a revelation would demonstrate that you are not someone who heeds from his own best advice.
Just such a smoking gun was unearthed by BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski, who posted a video portion of a “20/20” report from 2001 focusing on former Secretary of State and likely presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. The video is below. The transcript follows:
ROSS: (VO) Dionne Warwick sang for the small group. Ironically enough, “That’s what friends are for.” Numerous stars were there, but Paul and his wife Andrea were the ones seated right next to Mrs. Clinton. In fact, Paul’s home videos picked up Mrs. Clinton saying she had stopped using e-mail messages because of all the investigations she had been through.
Senator CLINTON: (From home video) As much as I’ve been investigated and all of that, you know, why would I—I don’t even want—why would I ever want to do e-mail?
Mr. PAUL: (From home video) No, no.
Senator CLINTON: (From home video) Can you imagine?
Kaczynski editorializes:
The homemade movie clip that revealed the anecdote was in an ABC report about accusations by a Hollywood multimillionaire of “aggressive fundraiser practice” by the Clintons. The homemade video of Clinton was a fundraiser for her 2000 Senate campaign.
