Orrin Johnson

In 2008, Commander Bryan Nishimura, U.S. Navy Reserve, came home from Afghanistan. He had access to classified information while deployed, and for some foolish reason copied some of that information to private, unsecured storage systems and then kept them in his home. He tried to destroy some of it, but came clean in 2012. Although the FBI found no evidence of malicious intent or compromised data, he was nonetheless prosecuted and convicted of a criminal offense. He was barred from ever again seeking a security clearance, and is now a civilian with a probation officer. We know these facts because the FBI and the Department of Justice bragged about it last year in press releases.

Commander Nishimura deserved his fate. Any military member who has ever held a security clearance knows that loose lips really can sink ships, and the difference between “malicious” and “incompetent” is meaningless to the victims of those who would exploit security weaknesses. As with a drunk driver who kills another motorist, the law does and should recognize that certain “careless” behaviors deserves punishment, even where harm was never intended.

Loretta Lynch makes it official: No charges in Hillary Clinton email probe

Does FBI have special standards for Clinton?: #tellusatoday

Hillary Clinton, of course, did far worse than Commander Nishimura. As secretary of State, she would have been a target for our enemies, and her information more valuable. When her mishandling of classified information first came to light, she lied about it early and often, indicating clearly that she knew what she’d done was wrong and felt the need to cover it up. According the FBI, no “reasonable person” in her position would have handled state secrets the way she did.

Not every bad thing that people do must necessarily be prosecuted as a criminal offense. But no reasonable person can now believe that Hillary Clinton isn’t getting a pass because she’s rich and connected. All that’s left for her defenders is that she’s “only” incompetent.

Whatever our policy disagreements, shouldn’t we be able to agree that this individual isn’t fit to be entrusted with nuclear codes?

Double standards are aggravating, but they will always be with us. Hillary Clinton not being charged by the lawless Obama administration is not a surprise. What’s more disturbing is that she and her political cronies are so brazen about it. They didn’t even try very hard to cover up her misconduct. They just shrug, depending on the increasing number of blind partisans who have given up on “ethics” or “right or wrong” as quaint relics.

For the Record: Nothing is over until we decide it is!

Flashback - Petraeus prosecutor: Clinton committed no crime

Sadly, Republicans have seen Democrats profit from this brazenness. “Character counts” is out, “better our corrupt incompetent liar than theirs” is in. But this doesn’t solve the problem – it makes us co-conspirators with Clinton, Lynch, and Obama. Voting for Trump (and his down-ticket imitators) reinforces a feedback loop rather than breaking a cycle.

What Democrats – and Republicans – must understand is that power we grant our elected officials (officially or by winking and nodding at the ballot box) will eventually be seized by our opponents. Tolerating selective enforcement of criminal statutes based on partisan considerations invites the same evil when political winds shift.

If America is to remain America, a restored culture of integrity must transcend our partisan divide.

Read more from Orrin Johnson at orrinjohnson.com.