Although Hillary Clinton "did act carelessly with classified material" when she was secretary of state, Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha said Wednesday, he believes she remains the "better choice" for president this year.Â
"(Clinton) has a grasp of the U.S. position in the world on foreign affairs and will work with Congress in a bipartisan fashion," the Democratic congressman said.
The general election showdown in November will match Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, assuming both candidates are nominated by their parties at national conventions this month.
"I trust the integrity of the FBI's investigation," Ashford said in a brief statement, referring to Tuesday's announcement by FBI Director James Comey that he would not recommend that charges be brought against Clinton despite what Comey called her "extremely careless" handling of classified material.
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"Secretary Clinton did act carelessly with classified material," Ashford said.
"Everyone in the federal government with access to classified materials needs to learn from this."
Ashford, the only Democratic member of Nebraska's congressional delegation, endorsed Clinton for his party's nomination early in the primary process.
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Bacon, his Republican congressional opponent in November, said he would have been court-martialed and "face possible jail time" if he had handled classified information in the same fashion.
"It is clear that the politician class in D.C. lives by a different set of rules and standards than those who represent our nation in uniform," Bacon said.
"I'm disappointed that the FBI did not pursue criminal charges against Hillary Clinton," he said.
"We need a new generation of leadership that is willing to shake up Washington, a new generation to bring about the cessation of this unacceptable behavior that is blatantly displayed by career politicians in Washington," he said.Â
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse took the floor of the Senate to warn about "the danger of a two-tiered system of justice and the erosion of public trust in civic life."
"Simply put," Sasse said, "lying matters. Public trust matters. Integrity matters. And woe to us as a nation if we decide to pretend that this isn't so.
"This issue isn't about political points or about presidential politics," Sasse said. Â "It is about whether the people can trust their representatives, those who are supposed to be serving them in government for a time."
"Quite apart from the specific question of whether Secretary Clinton is going to be convicted of a crime," Sasse said, "we must grapple with the reality that the public trust, the rule of law and the security of our nation have been injured by her actions."