Whether you've been following the story or not on the news, chances are you've heard about the scandal concerning Hilary Clinton's emails. According to an article in the IRJ Review, the former Secretary of State used her "personal email account to conduct official State Department business," a maneuver that has political figures and the media up in arms, so to speak, calling her actions an "egregious violation of the law."
Some people though, which may include some of our Atlanta readers, might be asking how a political figure using their personal email account for business purposes can be a violation of the law. This is especially true if California Senator Dianne Feinstein's statement is correct and Hilary Clinton meant no ill intent by using the account. It certainly begs an important question: could Hilary Clinton's email scandal lead to criminal charges?
According to some reporters who have delved into the issue, the answer to this question could be yes. That's because she may have violated several federal laws, which could lead to criminal charges that could leave her in need of a good lawyer and an even better defense. Some federal laws that have been cited so far by reporters are the 2009 Federal Records Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and an executive order and section under the federal code that makes it "unlawful to send of store classified information on personal email."
Whether these alleged violations of the law lead to criminal charges will depend on federal prosecutors, as would be the case for our readers as well in similar circumstances. At this time, Clinton as well as our readers who could be facing just as serious of criminal charges, would be wise to obtain a lawyer who can look at the facts of the case and help put forward the best criminal defense possible.
Source: The New York Times, "Caught Off Guard by Disclosure of Emails, Democrats Rally to Clinton’s Defense," Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman, March 4, 2015