title:  Speaker Paul Ryan’s Attack On Hillary Clinton Just Blew Up In His Face
text: Speaker Paul Ryan put on a public temper tantrum after FBI director James Comey came out and said he and his team did not believe that Hillary Clinton broke the law when she set up a personal email server.Ryan sent a request that instead of how presidential candidates are traditionally treated, that Clinton be denied intelligence briefings that are given once she becomes the official nominee of the Democratic Party.His petulant request has just been denied.Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Ryan in a letter obtained Monday by CNN that he  does not intend to withhold briefings from any officially nominated, eligible candidate. Ryan made the request after Clinton was severely criticized by the FBI for her email use, but not punished. Nominees for president and vice president receive these briefings by virtue of their status as candidates, and do not require separate security clearances before the briefings,  Clapper wrote to Ryan.  Briefings for the candidates will be provided on an even-handed non-partisan basis. Ryan s request is even more ridiculous when his own party s nominee is Donald Trump. Earlier in the year, intelligence experts expressed concerns that Trump would be given these briefings, as he has shown time and time again a complete disregard for how things are to be handled with sensitivity at the presidential level.The Speaker himself has expressed concerns on multiple occasions about Trump s temperament, admitting that his campaign sent an anti-Semitic tweet and that Trump s remarks about a Latino judge were racist. Yet Ryan has not raised any objections about Trump receiving intelligence briefings.Conservatives have repeatedly whipped themselves up into a frenzy, believing that investigations into the Benghazi attack would take down President Obama, and now Secretary Clinton. The probe into the email was an outgrowth of that frustration, and has now turned into a big zero. Again.Featured image via Flickr