The FBI put an end to speculation that Hillary Clinton will face charges for her use of a private email server. Director James Comey said today at a press conference that no reasonable prosecutor would file charges. He said there was no evidence she intended to send or receive classified emails. The FBI press release is here.

Even Bernie Sanders knew the email issue wasn't worth the hype. But it's good that they made the announcement before the convention. [More....]

Today on Kagro in the Morning, in the midst of a discussion with David Waldman on the Supreme Court’s decision in Whole Women’s Health v Hellerstedt (PDF) (discussion begins (begins at 46 minute mark of the discussion linked above), David and I segued to an exploration of what exactly is meant by the idea of “institutionalists v. insurrectionists”. the starting point was this interview of Chris Hayes:

Hollywood Reporter:

"And Brexit? Your position?" I ask.

"Huh?"

"Brexit."

"Hmm."

"The Brits leaving the EU," I prompt, realizing that his lack of familiarity with one of the most pressing issues in Europe is for him no concern nor liability at all.

"Oh yeah, I think they should leave."

To my knowledge, this was Trump’s only statement on Brexit before the referendum. Now of course he sees himself as its inspiration and originator:

Crooked Hillary Clinton, who called BREXIT 100% wrong (along with Obama), is now spending Wall Street money on an ad on my correct call.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2016

I guess he’s saying he said “they should leave” is his “correct call.” Interesting that.

Donald Trump has fired his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. It's not clear why and Lewandowski says he doesn't have an answer.

Will he get a new campaign manager? Does he need one? Maybe not. Reports are that campaign chairman Paul Manafort is in charge. According to Slate, Trump doesn't really have a campaign to manage.

President Obama and Hillary Clinton unleashed powerful attacks on Donald Trump today. Maybe together they will knock him out.

Speaking 250 miles apart Tuesday, but as if reading from the same hymnal, President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton delivered simultaneous withering critiques of Donald Trump's response to the Orlando terror attack.

The seemingly coordinated salvo from the Democratic Party's two biggest heavyweights is a preview of the months to come, when Clinton will have at her disposal at least two popular presidents, the vice president, her Democratic primary opponent, and a slew of other high-profile Democrats.

As for Trump, he's on his own. His party's heavy-weights seem content to have him dangle in the wind.[More...]

Hillary Clinton trounced Bernie Sanders in the Washington, D.C. primary.

The Associated Press said with 83 percent of the precincts reporting, Clinton has 67,156 votes, compared to 17,983 for Sanders.

Hey, Bernie, are you done now? It's not clear. Hillary and Bernie met tonight. So far, both are being mum. As for his demands that the platform accommodate his issues, they aren't "his" issues. Democrats have always been the party fighting for economic and social equality. Bernie just got the issues more attention. He gets props for that, but not the issues themselves or positions he's advocating. He didn't come up with them -- especially his views on criminal justice. Many of his positions are taken from years of advocacy by others, like criminal defense lawyers. Where was Bernie's voice in 1994? I never heard it.

It's Hillary vs. Trump. Bernie Sanders needs to step aside or be labeled part of the problem.

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Bernie Sanders didn't quite get the reaction he wanted by his Washington trip. He got eclipsed in the name of Democratic party unity.

Bernie Sanders remains insistent on competing in the D.C. primary. He says after that, he'll work to defeat Trump. Bernie Sanders is tone-deaf. His view of his self-importance is very inflated. He is not the story any longer. The story is Hillary vs Trump. [More...]

Update: 12:00 am: Unbelievable. He's going to fight for every vote in Washington DC's primary next week and keep fighting until Philadelphia. He was not even gracious enough to acknowledge Hillary has won the delegate votes necessary for the nomination. When he did mention that she called him tonight to congratulate him on how well he's done, his supporters booed at the mention of her name. He didn't stop them.

Update 11:43 pm. Here's Bernie finally, fist raised. Smiling. The rally music is Power to the People and Talking About a Revolution. He tells everyone they are part of the political revolution. He's recapping his campaign accomplishments- touting his 10 million votes and the support of "young people." He's optimistic about the future of the country. There he goes -- acting like he invented social justice, economic justice, environmental justice. His young fans love it.

He says we will not allow right wing Republicans like Donald Trump dictate our future. The American people will never support a candidate whose major theme is bigotry. Who insults Mexicans, Muslims and African Americans. We will not allow Donald Trump to become President of the United States. But wait, here it comes: "Our mission is more than defeating Trump, it is transforming our country." [More...]

Great speech. Great moment.

Oh BTW, I predicted this moment in November 2008.

Just sayin.

It's just about over. After her win this weekend in Puerto Rico, Hillary Clinton is expected to reach the magic number tomorrow and become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party.

As for Bernie, I hope he goes off for a long overdue nap.

The LA Times endorsed Hillary, but not Donald Trump. The Times calls Trump "an astoundingly unqualified candidate." It refused to make a Republican endorsement.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's spokesman confirmed that Arnold, who will be succeeding Trump as host of Celebrity Apprentice, mailed in his ballot with a vote for John Kasich.

This thread is for all things election-related.

It was June 7, 2008 that Hillary Clinton withdrew from the Democratic presidential nomination race. I remember it well, since I was in Aspen for a NORML legal seminar and watched the speech on TV there.

Sanders, apparently, is not dropping out. No matter. He could win California and it still won't matter.

A whopping total of 475 delegates are at stake, but if it’s as close as the polls suggest, the winner stands to net a mere 20 or 30 delegates. Using this excellent delegate calculator, let’s go through all the remaining races and then circle back to the big prize, bearing in mind that right now, among pledged delegates, it’s Clinton up by 268, 1,769 to 1,501.

[More...]

I've had enough of the election for a while. I'm not particularly interested in Trump protests or Bernie Sanders' latest maneuvers. Or reports on Hillary's email.

Here's an open thread to discuss the election.