The investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email
server will continue regardless of the result on Election Day, Rep.
Michael McCaul said Wednesday. But if she ends up in the White
House, she could eventually face impeachment proceedings.
"This investigation will continue whether she wins or not," the
Texas Republican, who heads the House Homeland Security Committee,
told Fox News'
"America's Newsroom." "But assuming she wins and the
investigation goes forward and it looks like an indictment is
pending, at that point in time, under the Constitution, the House
representatives would engage in an impeachment trial."
If that happens, he continued, the House would "go to the Senate
and impeachment proceedings and removal would take place."
The only time he can recall something similar was when former
President Richard Nixon was impeached, but resigned "before he would
have been voted to be removed from office.
"Gerald Ford pardoned him from any criminal wrongdoing. I would
hate to see this country thrown into a constitutional crisis because
of Hillary Clinton's behavior."
Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton,
faced impeachment proceedings in 1998, after the House
initiated action on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice,
stemming from his affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky,
and the testimony he gave about it in a lawsuit filed against him by
Paula Jones. The Senate acquitted Clinton of the charges in February
1999, just two months after they were filed, and the House failed to
forward two other attempted articles of impeachment.
Meanwhile, McCaul said FBI Director James Comey's decision to
write a letter to Congressional leaders concerning the potential
discovery of more information in Clinton's email server case was
justified, as he "gave us an update as he promised he would."
But the nature of the case makes the situation unique, McCaul
said, and Clinton has been "running around saying she has been
cleared, when that's not a correct statement."
"There is new evidence reopening the case, and evidence that
can be quite damaging," he said. "To get a search warrant you
have to have probable cause. They had probable cause to get a
search warrant on Huma Abedin's laptop."
If there are any new emails discovered, and if they show
intent to hide information, that could lead to further legal
woes, McCaul said.
"That would be the smoking gun the FBI would be looking for,"
McCaul said. "I said all along this should have gone before a
grand jury to take the politics out of this . . . for whatever
reason, they chose not to do that. There is probable cause to
get a search warrant now and go before a grand jury and present
this."
© 2016 Newsmax. All rights reserved.