SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

HANDEL HANDLES IT – Republican Karen Handel has won the special Congressional election in Georgia's 6th C.D., defeating Democrat Jon Ossoff.  Handel received 52.1 percent of the vote to Ossoff's
47.9 percent.  So ends the Democratic dream of making this the most important election in world history.  The district is traditionally Republican, and Ossoff certainly ran a close race, benefiting from millions of dollars from sources outside Georgia.  But he lost.  One hopes the Democratic Party understands that losing is not good, and not an expression of public confidence.  We'll probably have more on this latest Democratic failure tomorrow.

HILLARY GETS MORE HEAT – FROM FOX:  The State Department has opened a formal inquiry into whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her aides mishandled classified information while she was the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned. Despite being under investigation, Clinton and her staffers still have security clearances to access sensitive government information.  The department’s investigation aims to determine whether Clinton and her closest aides violated government protocols by using her private server to receive, hold and transmit classified and top-secret government documents. The department declined to say when its inquiry began, but it follows the conclusion of the FBI’s probe into the matter, which did not result in any actions being taken against Clinton or any of her aides.  Depending on the outcome of the current State Department inquiry, Clinton and her aides could have their access to sensitive government documents terminated.   The aides' clearances should be terminated, but I'm guessing that Hillary will keep hers.  I don't think Trump wants to humiliate her further.  He wants to be the big guy, and I think the word will be passed to the press that he personally approved her clearance.

SO MUCH FOR GUN CONTROL – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:    The man who was killed after plowing a car filled with guns into a police van on the Champs-Elysées had a permit to carry arms despite being on France’s terror watch list, officials said.  Adam Dzaziri, 31, had at least nine weapons — including two pistols and a Kalashnikov-type assault rifle — in his home in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil, a source close to the probe told the Telegraph of the UK.  Dzaziri was carrying in his car an assault rifle, two handguns, ammo and two large gas canisters, two police sources and the judicial official told the paper.  Prime Minister Edouard Philippe expressed his alarm that Dzaziri was able to have a weapons permit despite being on a jihadist watch list.  “What I know at this stage is that the first weapons permit was given before this individual was flagged up,” he told BFM-TV and RMC radio Tuesday.  He said “nobody can be satisfied — and certainly not me” that Dzaziri had still been able to carry lethal weapons.  We're told they're so tough on guns in Europe, yet look at the number of terror incidents in which guns were found, either on the offender or in his residence.  Criminals and terrorists do not observe gun-control laws. 

June 20, 2017