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Hillary Email Gaps Hide 'Pay For Play,' Benghazi Truth

Scandal: Selective editing of her emails by Hillary Clinton staffers have left "months and months" of gaps of missing emails, including those from her trip to Libya from which an iconic picture has gone viral.

We have all seen the photo of Hillary Clinton flying on a C-17 to Libya in October 2011 using a hand-held device to presumably check or send emails, perhaps about her trip, the situation in Libya, or maybe, just maybe, communicating with a foreign Clinton Foundation donor.

We don't know because, as House Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy noted on CBS' "Face The Nation" last Sunday, there are no emails that have been turned over to his committee from that day or from that trip.

There are in fact months and months of gaps in the emails turned over, gaps that may hide unpleasant truths about both Benghazi and foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation.

"Yes, sir, there are gaps of months and months and months," Gowdy told host Bob Schieffer. "If you think of that iconic picture of her on a C-17 flying to Libya, sunglasses on, she has her hand held device in her hand, we have no emails from that day. In fact we have no emails from that trip. It strains credulity to believe that if you're on your way to Libya to discuss Libyan policy that there has not been a single document has been turned over to Congress. There are huge gaps."

This, we now know, is because Clinton conducted all her government business on her own email account linked to her very own email server set up in violation of the Federal Records Act the day she was confirmed as secretary of state. Gowdy also notes that in all his conversations with the State Department, during which it was claiming full compliance with his requests, State made no mention of Clinton's private account or server.

What we do know, as Catherine Herridge of Fox News has reported, is that emails scattered through those obtained by Judicial Watch via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show that there existed a "Benghazi Group," a code phrase used inside the State Department for a Benghazi damage-control operation led by Clinton aides Cheryl Mills and Philippe Reines, who has been described as Hillary Clinton's "gatekeeper."

The two ran interference for Hillary during the 2012 Benghazi attack and were involved in what has been dubbed "Operation Basement" — going through documents and emails and turning over only those not damaging Hillary Clinton's reputation or political future.

"Cheryl Mills was instrumental in seeing the big lie was put out there," says Judicial Watch head Tom Fitton. "What's notable thus far is we received no emails from or to (Clinton). You have to wonder whether these aides went offline and were using secret accounts to communicate with her about the Benghazi attack."

You also have to wonder if Hillary and her State Department staff were also busy concocting the inflammatory Benghazi video lie.

Ron Fournier of the National Journal advises that the emails may help us "follow the money" that has flowed into Clinton Foundation coffers, a tale of possible "pay for play" involving unknown promises in exchange for donations.

Fournier writes that "Hillary Clinton's secret communications stash is a bombshell" whose "greatest relevancy is what the emails might reveal about any nexus between Clinton's work at State and any donations to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation from U.S. corporations and foreign nations."

Team Clinton is already resurrecting that old "vast right wing conspiracy" defense concerning these accusations, a defense used in the days of Monica Lewinsky and Chinese campaign middleman Johnny Chung.

But it will take more than another "pretty in pink" press conference to explain away this tangled web of deceit and lies Hillary Clinton has weaved.