The last few weeks just clarify how this election is really about whether there is hope for the concept of the rule of law and sanctity of the Bill of Rights and so much more we have taken for granted for generations.

We have hacked emails, leaks, cover-ups, quid pro quo deals and, finally, the president himself suggesting free speech is too much speech. To date, the nearly 17,000 internal emails hacked from Clinton Campaign Manager John Podesta demonstrate the diabolical nature of the campaign — interconnected, unethical relationships with Big Media and major donors and the corruption of the candidate for president.

It could take years to ferret out all the subtle graft pay to play schemes, connections and duplicity contained in the email exchanges. However, just what we do now know about the financial, moral and intellectual corruption of the political and corporate “ruling class” is simply jaw dropping.

Newly released FBI documents put an exclamation point on how the system now works in Washington. The released investigative notes from the FBI demonstrate how Under Secretary of State for Management, Patrick Kennedy, pressured both the FBI and State Department security officials to re-classify originally “classified” emails sent or received by then-Secretary of State Clinton on her private server system to “unclassified.” In addition, the language of the documents makes it abundantly clear a deal was in play where the future status of FBI international offices was a “payoff” for the reclassified documents.

For his part, the president, in an impromptu answer to a question about the reported deal quickly stated there “isn’t any evidence of that at all.” Presumably, the FBI’s own documents don’t count with this president.

Frank Ruff represents Charlotte in the Senate. His email address is Sen. Ruff@verizon.net.