The political climate leading up to the general election to succeed President Barack Obama has become so polarizing that even former enemies of Hillary Clinton are willing to endorse her instead of Donald Trump.
Although former Secretary of State Clinton has already received quite a few high-profile endorsements, one of the most surprising was reported in early October: Michael Chertoff, a former Secretary of Homeland Security and close ally of former President George W. Bush, issued a very eloquent endorsement of the Democratic candidate whom he once prosecuted.
Chertoff is a prominent figure of the Republican establishment, which is largely composed of individuals whose political acumen is considered to be in line with the principles of the Grand Old Party, the same political faction that elected President Abraham Lincoln.
When Clinton was the former First Lady of the United States, she was the subject of an investigation into dubious real estate development deals that took place when her husband was Governor of Arkansas. By the time former President Bill Clinton was in the Oval Office, the Whitewater affair had become a scandal that many Democrats considered to have been a Republican witch hunt.
Chertoff was appointed lead counsel in the Whitewater investigation, which revealed some irregularities in the way that the real estate deal was conducted by former President Clinton and his wife; however, the legal affair did not escalate further. When Chertoff was appointed Secretary of Homeland Security, political analysts commented that the appointment was likely in recognition of his loyalty to the GOP as well as his composure during the Whitewater investigation.
In 2016, Chertoff is endorsing the former subject of his prosecution because he believes that Clinton has exercised good judgment as Secretary of State insofar as dealing with threats to national security and to American interests overseas. Chertoff even mentioned being aware of political agitators trying to dig up Whitewater details nowadays; he thinks that such attempts to discredit Clinton are very insignificant when compared to national security matters, which happen to be his field of expertise.
Chertoff also mentioned being very concerned about Trump’s apparent loyalty to Russia at a time when investigations suggest that the Kremlin is sponsoring cyber intrusions destined to derail the elections. The former Homeland Security official is also very concerned about Trump’s uninformed view of NATO, a global security alliance he seems to be unable to comprehend or support.