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On Clinton and Republicans, Grassley trying to stay neutral
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · August 20, 2015
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley last week said his interest in investigating former Secretary of State and current Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is focused on whether she committed a crime by saving government e-mails on a private server.
As of last count, investigators flagged more than 300 documents with possible classified information found on Clinton’s server.
“At this point my looking into it … is about whether a crime has been committed,” he said in an Aug. 13 phone interview with the West Branch Times and KROS Radio.
He said he does not know if the investigation will derail Clinton’s campaign and said he would investigate this regardless of political party.
“I’m not investigating this because she is a candidate for president or because Mrs. Clinton’s involved,” the chair of the Judicial Committee said. “There has been some press that I was doing it only because she is a candidate for president. This is contrary 35 years of reputation I have of being equal opportunity. … It’s all about national security and all about making sure that the laws are followed.”
Grassley was asked about state laws putting homosexuality in conflict with people of faith. In the past year, a bakery in Oregon was fined $135,000 for refusing to prepare a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, a pastor in Kentucky was barred from ministering to juveniles if he called homosexuality a “sin,” and a couple in Iowa closed their wedding chapel after being sued for not allowing a same-sex couple to rent it out.
Grassley said those people and others should be protected should their case ever gets to court, not only because of the First Amendment right to practice their religion, but also because of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The RFRA was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court because Congress exceeded its enforcement power, but is still used in cases involving the federal government.
“That law was passed specifically because the Supreme Court had made a decision because Congress felt that an individual or groups of individuals were being denied the right to practice their religion,” he said.
In regards to the Republican presidential race, Grassley said he welcomes all candidates to Iowa, including Donald Trump.
“Iowa wants to be first in the nation, and I’m proud of that,” he said. “I don’t want to keep anybody out.”
Asked which Republican he thought is most like Ronald Reagan, Grassley said he did not know and was not likely to endorse anyone in the primary, especially since he is also running for re-election.
“Probably 80 percent are claiming a close relationship with Ronald Reagan’s philosophy,” he said. “Some might even go beyond Reagan in the sense of their conservatism. Right now, I’m just listening, just like you probably are.”
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