From a big picture standpoint, and leaving aside the problem I’ve raised about whether all elements of the crime are present, the Clinesmith presents a far larger problem for Durham as it stands today. In effect, accepting the guilty plea on the theory that KC altered the email
but thought what he added was accurate, allows an FBI lawyer to claim mitigation based on semantics. It elevates semantics over substance. Page interfaced with and helped the CIA as they were watching suspected Russian spies. The reality was that Page let himself be used in the
aid of the agency trying to catch the spies, as opposed to being simply the target of recruitment by the Russians- which is how the FBI characterized the facts in the FISA application. Clinesmith knew the difference and understood the question on the table was what, in substance,
was Page’s relationship to the CIA. Letting him plead to a charge that allowed him to both plead guilty and at the same time claim he believed he accurately reported Page wasn’t a source, elevates form over substance. One feature of CH was that everybody played word games.
There always seemed to be a pretext that justified the spying that went on. Throughout, the substance of what they were up was an abuse of power. The Clinesmith plea doesn’t really address that problem.
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