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CBS Asks Why What Clinton Did Was Not a Crime

July 5, 2016

CBS News' Maurice DuBois asked Face the Nation host John Dickerson and chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford Tuesday why Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email during her time as secretary of state was not a crime.

"Well, I mean, Director Comey's bottom line seems to be just because you were extremely careless or you should have known better, that doesn't mean you've committed a crime that will be prosecuted," Crawford said. "Now, extreme carelessness, which Director Comey said that Clinton and her team did, that sounds like gross negligence, but historically prosecutors have required something more to bring charges, something like intentional or deliberate mishandling of classified information."

Crawford used David Petraeus' case where he handed over binders of highly classified material to his biographer girlfriend as an example of deliberate negligence.

Dickerson said that while the Clinton campaign has brushed off the FBI ruling as "open and shut," the FBI's investigation revealed information that counter's Clinton's previous claims.

"When we think of the trusting a president there are two important qualities to look for in Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, how will they behave when no one is looking and will they be truthful when everyone is looking," Dickerson said.

The State Department Inspector General found that Clinton's server operated outside of the spirit and letter of the law, Dickerson said.

Clinton's answers to the questions surrounding her private server have not stood up to the scrutiny of an FBI investigation. Dickerson said that this now leaves voters with a lot to think about.