Clinton’s election drama has echoes of Gore’s 2000 bid
If the political drama surrounding the democratic presidential race sounds a little familiar, it should. ¶ Hillary Clinton’s current struggles with an ongoing email scandal, the aftermath of a Justice Department investigation and serious questions about fundraising activities closely track the fraught political landscape then-vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore confronted in 2000.
WASHINGTON The Democratic presidential candidate’s interview with federal investigators was hours-long.
The questions, including tense exchanges about missing emails from a high-profile government archive, spanned years when the then-candidate was one of the most senior officials in government.
If the political drama sounds familiar, it should.
Hillary Clinton’s current struggles with an email scandal, the aftermath of a Justice Department investigation and serious questions about fundraising activities closely track the fraught political landscape then-vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore confronted in 2000.
Sixteen years ago, then-attorney general Janet Reno rejected for a third time a recommendation to appoint a special counsel to investigate Gore’s campaign fundraising activities in 1996.
Like last month’s recommendation by FBI Director James Comey not to pursue criminal charges related to Clinton’s handling of classified information on a private email server while secretary of State, Reno’s decision infuriated Republicans and followed the general election campaign to its historically disputed end.
Until the Clinton email inquiry, the scrutiny of Gore’s activities marked the last time a Justice probe so closely shadowed a presidential campaign. While nearly two decades removed, both cases underscore a highstakes process in which political considerations are virtually impossible to exclude from crucial