( CNN ) How do Republicans try to breathe new life into an old scandal ? We 've seen it time and time again . Here 's how it works : . Step One : Republicans , with nothing in their arsenal to use against Hillary Clinton , selectively leak to reporters a `` scandalous '' tidbit -- often one that has been previously reported . Step Two : The new media bites . Step Three : The media hyperventilates and suffocates the airwaves with repetition of the same story . Step Four : Upon further examination , the story falls apart . This is exactly how the latest media hype , this time over Hillary Clinton 's use of emails at the State Department , has played out . And it presents yet another chapter in the Benghazi hoax . The New York Times story about Hillary Clinton 's use of a private email account at the State Department is a perfect example of `` gotcha '' journalism , where reporters will take any bait the Republicans give them without proper vetting . The New York Times has a history of this . ( Whitewater , anyone ? ) The Times story suggests Secretary Clinton broke federal rules in relation to her email . But the Times ' main source for this allegation says Clinton violated no laws . Yes , Clinton used a private email account to communicate while she was secretary of state . But so did secretaries of state before her . According to the State Department spokesman Marie Harf , John Kerry is the first secretary of state ever to rely primarily on official State Department email . Clinton asks State to release emails : What you need to know . In October 2014 , 18 months after Clinton left , the State Department was engaged in the process of updating its records preservation policies . The State Department asked every secretary of state dating back to Madeleine Albright to provide records , including emails , from their time in office . Clinton responded to the State Department 's request for emails , providing the department with over 55,000 pages of emails . She did so months ago . Clinton has been fully transparent and has asked the State Department for these emails to be made public . Republican investigators seeking to hype the current Benghazi investigation leaked the issue to keep a dying investigation alive . And once again , reporters bit . In the days since The New York Times posted its story , there have been dozens and dozens of stories written on the topic . Why ? Because the Clintons are held to a double standard when it comes to media scrutiny . Their perfectly usual , above board behavior is spun as secretive and unaccountable -- while Republicans are left relatively unscathed . Mitt Romney used his private email account to discuss political business , and when he left the governor 's office , his administration destroyed records rather than turn them over to state archives . Scott Walker 's County Executive 's office used a secret email system , which investigators determined was being used to engage in campaign work on county time and to avoid public records disclosure laws . Mike Huckabee 's office had files , including emails , cleaned and physically destroyed , including `` travel records , calendars , call logs , and emails . '' Why has n't their behavior been scrutinized over and over again ? Because their last name is n't Clinton . In the end , all we are left with is the benign fact that Hillary Clinton used a personal email account at the State Department . This is n't even a revelation -- it has been known for years . Looks like the Republicans wasted their breath , once again , for nothing .
David emails : The story is another example of emails attempting to create a phony controversy . Hillary emails 's corrupt practices did n't break the law , he says .