What is to be done with Hillary Clinton and her crew?  Indications are that President-Elect Trump is inclined to forgive her transgressions.  As expected, there is already substantial pushback from conservatives.  Thus, the story is still to be told.

All the evidence, thus far, is that Hillary has committed grave offenses with respect to national security.  Her lieutenants appear just as guilty of criminal acts. 

Moreover, while the president can pardon, he must not interfere with on-going Justice Department criminal investigations.  Neither may he interfere with congressional investigations and findings.  Regardless of President-Elect Trump's inclinations, the matter will likely remain unresolved for some time to come.

Let us explore this issue.  I propose a solution that should be satisfying to all.

Hillary, and her associates abused classified documents.  These range from the lowest level of Confidential to the highest level of Top Secret - Special Access Program.  In between are Secret and Top Secret.  It is important to recognize that these documents were removed, without authorization and without secure protection, from secure facilities.  Such removal is itself a crime.  An even greater crime is replicating and exposing Special Access information.  Replicating, or exposing, Special Access documents is espionage! 

Confidential documents usually do not contain information of great significance.  On the other hand, Secret, Top Secret, and especially Special Access documents could cause immediate, and irreparable, harm to America if their contents were to be discovered by adversaries.  Lives may depend on the security of these documents.  Sources of critical intelligence would likely dry up.  Even worse may happen.

Most of Hillary's hundreds of classified emails were marked (or unmarked) Confidential.  There apparently were only a scattering of higher-level documents, including Special Access.  So what?  What great harm would come from these documents?

Let us now enter the realm of speculation.  I hesitate to tread here because this is an area outside my expertise.  Nonetheless, let us engage in a "what-if."

Classified documents, at all classification levels, might become effective cribs for cracking our secure communication encryption systems.  The more cribs, the easier it is to break a crypto system.  If that were to happen, then the government's secure communication system would be broken and would need very expensive replacement.  If this speculation is correct, Hillary may be guilty of one of the great crimes of American history.

We don't know that this is the case.  It is very likely we will never find out, because this is a super-sensitive security issue.  Political calculation, as much as anything, will determine what happens next. 

The new President Trump should allow the justice system to work, for there is a solution that could increase his stature while affirming his conservative credentials.  The Justice Department should appoint an independent counsel to conduct a wide-ranging investigation of Hillary's activities.  Congress can do likewise.

In order to neutralize liberal attacks on the investigation, the independent counsel should be a well known liberal of impeccable honor, integrity, and patriotism.  He should be bulldog tenacious.  And he should be brilliant.  My choice would be Alan Dershowitz.

Let us assume that the independent counsel provides ample evidence of Hillary's criminal negligence, and other criminal activities, so that a trial would inevitably lead to conviction – conviction not only of Hillary, but also of many of those around her.  The president should pardon Hillary before trial – but fully release all unclassified information about her activities.  This pardon would be, in part, to protect possible encryption secrets and, in part, to relieve political tensions. 

To prison would go everyone else who had a part in her illegal activities – particularly those who actively engaged in the espionage.  These convictions would send a message to anyone, in the future, whose ambition inclines him to follow a scoundrel.

Any good leader protects his followers and shares their fate.  For a leader to abandon his followers to their doom is just about the most disgraceful act imaginable.  This would be one consequence of a presidential pardon, but the conviction of Hillary's followers.  The pardoned leader is condemned to slink away into personal obscurity.  But the disgrace lives on.

As for future followers?  Such would be well advised by this dénouement to stand well clear of leaders of dubious integrity and lack of honor.  Such leaders are dangerous to be around.  The lesson is an old one, but it must be periodically retaught.

This result would be politically devastating to the far left and would provide an exemplary lesson for all who are politically ambitious.  At last the mess would be behind us.  Best of all, the rule of law would be restored.