Did James Comey's New Letter Do Anything To Help Hillary Clinton's Campaign?

On Sunday, FBI Director James Comey disclosed that possible emails from Hillary Clinton's private server, discovered during the course of an investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner's computer, had not changed the Bureau's initial decision to not indict Clinton. Comey initially drew widespread criticism last month for revealing information about a potential connection between the Clinton's server and Weiner's investigation so close to Election Day. Republican Donald Trump's campaign was able to subsequently capitalize on Comey's initial disclosure, which he gave in the form of a letter to Congress, helping the candidate gain some last minute campaign momentum against his rival. But while many Clinton supporters were worried Comey's first letter would hurt the Democratic nominee, Comey's new letter might just help Clinton's campaign, in ways he may not have expected.

Despite the potential for positive retaliation from Clinton's most diehard supporters and advocates, we can't pretend that Comey's actions didn't hurt Clinton in this last, crucial leg of the race. The damage is undeniably irreversible. Clinton's former vast lead over Trump has shrunk, with a new ABC News/Washington Post poll putting the former Secretary of State only 5 points ahead of her spray-tan-obssesed-tax-evading-softcore-porn-star opponent. The silver lining of this truly unfortunate and pointless setback, is that it might further incentivize Clinton supporters to get out and vote on Election Day.

Trump and his supporters have long latched on to the idea that because Clinton used a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State that she is a felon, despite the fact that she was never charged with any crime. It's also important to remember that Colin Powell, a Republican, also used a personal email account while serving as Secretary of State. Yet, somehow, this fact seems insignificant to both Comey and Trump supporters.

Clinton's emails have consistently haunted her throughout this campaign. While it's gotten a few good laughs on Saturday Night Live, it's actually been a huge problem for the Clinton campaign. The history of Clinton's emails is so ridiculous that, according to a study conducted by Tyndall Report, ABC's World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC's Nightly News have dedicated more of their airtime to talking about the email "scandal" than to all policy issues combined since the beginning of 2016.

The heated discussions over Clinton's emails have damaged her reputation more than anything else during this election. Despite being vastly more qualified than Trump — who, let's be real, is less qualified than a pinecone to be president — Americans are choosing to vote for Trump or to not vote at all because of the pervasiveness of the NeverEnding Story of Hillary Clinton's Emails. Sure, Comey brought the infamous emails back into the news cycle during the homestretch and did irreparable damage to Clinton's lead in the polls. The fact is, though, that the FBI has now twice publicly declared that there is nothing in those emails to suggest that Clinton committed any crime. So, let's move on already and actually talk about something of merit.

In the wake of Comey's new letter to Congress, many feel more determined than ever to support their candidate of choice this Election Day. The ABC News/Washington Post poll not only finds Clinton in the lead, but also reveals that Clinton has something Trump simply does not. She has supporters who believe in her and are voting for her because they know that she will fight to make America better every day she holds the title of President of the United States. According to the poll, more than half of Trump's supporters are voting for him simply because they oppose Clinton.

Margaret Mead said it best: "Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Clinton's group of thoughtful, committed supporters will be heading to the polls on Tuesday to ensure that she becomes the next president of the United States. No emails or irrelevant letters to Congress can stop them.