October 28, 2016, 10 years ago: James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sends a letter to members of Congress, advising them that the FBI was reviewing more emails written by, and to, the Democratic Party's nominee for President, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Members of Congress revealed the information to the public within minutes.
Comey's boss, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, could have stepped in, and reminded the country that nothing in those emails revealed any criminal activity, committed by anyone, including Secretary Clinton. So could Holder's boss, President Barack Obama, leaving office the following January 20, as he was limited to 2 terms in office. But neither did, to avoid the appearance of trying to "fix" the election -- as if Comey hadn't already tried that.
And so, "the appearance of impropriety" fed into the myth of Mrs. Clinton, and of her husband, Bill Clinton, as unethical, which the Republican Party had been pushing since he began his 1st campaign for President, 25 years to the month earlier.
It may have made all the difference in the election, throwing it to the Republicans' nominee for President: A spectacularly failed businessman with no political experience, of malignant narcissism, of disgusting racism, of unacceptable misogyny, and compromised in disastrous ways. His name was Donald Trump.
Trump won 306 Electoral Votes, Clinton 232 -- although, with "faithless electors" kicking in, it turned out to be 304-227 in Trump's favor. Trump won Michigan by less than 11,000 votes, Wisconsin by less than 23,000, and Pennsylvania by less than 45,000. Had those 3 States gone the other way, presuming no faithless electors, the Electoral Vote would have been 278-260 in Clinton's favor.
To borrow a term Trump would appreciate, given his love of the Mob: Comey kneecapped Clinton.
And how did Trump thank Comey for this? By firing him. James Comey ended up as the one figure from the 2016 Presidential election who was hated by both sides -- although, in the Republicans' case, it was for what he did after it.
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October 28, 2016 was a Friday. Game 3 of the World Series was played, the 1st World Series game played at Wrigley Field in 71 years. The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0. Coco Crisp singled Michael Martínez home with the game's only run in the top of the 7th inning. Josh Tomlin, Andrew Miller (winning pitcher), Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen combined on a 5-hit shutout. But the Cubs won the World Series in Game 7.
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