As the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private server winds down, all eyes will be focused on the Department Of Justice to find out whether or not charges will be filed.
Whatever the final decision turns out to be, the DOJ will most certainly be faced with harsh criticism from one side of the aisle or the other.
"In this scenario, federal prosecutors are damned if they do bring a case and damned if they don't." said former deputy chief of the Justice Department's public integrity section.
Regardless of the DOJ's final decision, its reputation will take a significant hit from those who find the ruling not to their liking. If charges are brought, Democrats will point to FBI Director James Comey's ties to the Bush administration as motive to pursue the case so diligently. On the other hand, if the Justice Department declines to bring charges, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and President Obama will both be under scrutiny, with allegations of a cover-up galore.
Of course, the DOJ could have avoided this difficult situation had it appointed an independent prosecutor. A move that, according to The Hill, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) has advocated on the floor of the Senate. So far, however, the Justice Department has declined to go down that path.
"I'm greatly concerned about the reputation of the Justice Department, which is why I have stated that I think the proper and best course would have been to have this go to an independent prosecutor a good year ago. It was pretty obvious that to put these decisions in the hands of high-ranking political appointees creates a perception - valid or not - of, at the very least, unconscious political influence." said Ronald Sievert, a former Justice Department official who now teaches law at Texas A&M.
As a reminder, what also creates a perception of political influence is the fact that DOJ employees have donated nearly $75,000 to Clinton's presidential campaign, something that won't go unnoticed by Republicans if the Justice Department fails to bring charges.
We don't have any sympathy for the position the DOJ finds itself in. The cronyism that has run rampant throughout the financial and political arenas may someday come back on those that helped create it and facilitate it, which would be a welcome development. There is a very good chance that no matter what happens, the public will eventually be able to review all of the evidence and decide for themselves. If charges are brought, then the public will get the opportunity to see all of the facts as they are laid out throughout the case. If no charges are brought, then as Senator Chuck Grassley hinted, the FBI's investigative materials may be "leaked." Until that time, we will just have to sit back and watch the circus.