The Week That Was : Benghazi Emails and Immunity, Sanders vs Warren, and Nancy Reagan

We missed some things last week because the GOP establishment's panic over Donald Trump's presidential run that was so great that insiders even quasi-embraced the arch-outsider Ted Cruz. I'm still waiting for the Trump-Cruz ticket to put a lid on the Romney-led tantrum. ~~~~~ Here are some of the important news items, low-keyed by mainstream media. ~~~ (1). The State Department released the final batch of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private server emails, including an email proving that Clinton was well aware of the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi and did nothing to prevent the tragedy. On April 10, 2011, Ambassador Chris Stevens’ aide sent an email to Clinton staff saying the Ambassador was seriously considering leaving the country because of a rapidly escalating civil war. That was 17 months before the deadly Benghazi attacks in which Islamic militants stormed the US consulate and killed Stevens. His safety concerns were sent to the Clinton inner circle, including key aide Huma Abedin and now-top foreign policy advisor to Clinton's campaign, Jake Sullivan. They forwarded the email directly to Clinton -- it tells of Stevens considering departure from Libya, and of heavy shelling and sniper fire. But, Clinton it seems did nothing about it. The Benghazi email, rumored to exist for months, was confirmed in the final release of 3,800 document stored on Clinton’s private server. ~~~ (2). Fox News reported that the FBI is investigating whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top aides shared computer passwords. This is part of its probe into how classified information on separate secure systems made the jump into Clinton's unsecured private email server. Fox quoted an intelligence source familiar with the probe : "if [Clinton] was allowing other people to use her passwords, that is a big problem," since sharing of passwords is prohibited by The Foreign Service Officers Manual. ~~~ (3). The password report came on the heels of news that immunity was granted to Bryan Pagliano, the State Department employee who set up Clinton's server. He had previously invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, leading many to think he has information damaging to Clinton. Former federal prosecutor Bob Ray told The Hill : "If prosecutors confer immunity in a case, in general it means that they at least have some intention of pursuing the matter to a grand jury....Prosecutors are in the business of making cases -- you don't hand out immunity unless the hope is it gets you additional evidence that you would not be able to get, and that [the] evidence leads towards being able to perfect a charge." Security experts think Pagliano might know a lot, since he worked on the server alone. He would know what security measures were put in place and would have discussed what the server would be used for. ~~~ (4). Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders supporters are angry with Progressive leader and Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren for staying neutral in Democratic primaries. Sanders fans are upset that Warren didn't help Sanders in her home state of Massachusetts, where Hillary Clinton gained an important win on last Tuesday. Warren’s social media is full of Sanders backers' pleas and recriminations over her refusal to endorse Sanders. Warren is also the only woman in the Senate who hasn’t endorsed Clinton. Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America that endorsed Sanders, says Warren’s decision not to endorse Clinton is an implicit endorsement of Sanders. ~~~~~ And, dear readers, I want to share with you the warmest of all the tributes to Nancy Reagan. Former President George W. Bush's statement said : "Her influence on the White House was complete and lasting. During her time as First Lady and since, she raised awareness about drug abuse and breast cancer. When we moved into the White House, we benefited from her work to make those historic rooms beautiful. Laura and I are grateful for the life of Nancy Reagan, and we send our condolences to the entire Reagan family."