Republicans Aren't Finished With Clinton's Emails

The election is over: Donald Trump received more electoral votes than Hillary Clinton, and he's going to be the next president; there's no more campaigning left to do. Nevertheless, GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced Monday that House Republicans will continue investigating Clinton's email server, because of course they will.

"Just because there was a political election doesn't mean it goes away, so of course I am going to continue to pursue that," Chaffetz told reporters Monday. "There are still open questions that we need to finish up so they won't happen again." Incredibly, this puts House Republicans to the right of even Trump himself, who has indicated that he won't pursue any probes into Clinton's email activity once he assumes the presidency.

One could argue that Chaffetz, by continuing the investigation, is simply doing his due diligence as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. However, it's hard to look too favorably upon his motives, given the notably softer tone he took when discussing Trump.

When asked about potential conflicts of interest in a Trump presidency, Chaffetz responded that the president is exempt from a lot of laws. He added that "maybe some of that should be tightened up, but it's not something I've dove into." Because, you know, no rush. In the meantime, let's keep that Clinton probe going!

This is yet another illustration of the Republican Party's deep, illogical and seemingly infinite animosity toward Clinton. The GOP has already investigated this issue to death, and it has uncovered no evidence that Clinton did anything illegal. The FBI conducted its own probe into Clinton's email use and came to the same conclusion. Moreover, Clinton isn't a government official anymore. She's a private citizen, and she isn't a candidate for any office.

In other words, there's simply no good reason to continue these investigations. Unless, of course, you're operating on the premise that surely, Clinton must have done something wrong, and that it's only a matter of time until her wrongdoing is uncovered.

The GOP has been hounding Clinton relentlessly for years. In 2012, the scandal of the day was Benghazi, which Republicans investigated endlessly to no avail. Then, it was her email server. Now, it's... well, her email server, again.

Prior to the election, these investigations had at least a facade of credibility, given that Clinton was seemingly on track to become the next president. Now that that possibility has vanished, what's the point? There seems to be none, and yet the Republican continues to hammer away.

Trump will be president in less than a month, and like all presidents, he'll be hit with a scandal sooner or later. If past is any precedent, Republicans will respond to that scandal, whatever it is, by announcing a new investigation into Clinton's email server.