@Lash,
Interesting compilation of the e mail story and its key elements. Frankly I doubt there will be indictments any time soon, and possibly never from the current Attorney General. President Obama has already taken the unusual step of publicly indicating his belief that nothing criminal was involved (I don't presume to know his motives, but the political stakes for him and his party are very high in this matter); the State Department is still slow walking the pending FOIA requests, and even the Intelligence community IG, in releasing e-mails; and Hillary continues to deny any wrongdoing (while parsing her words in a very Clintonian way); there's no evidence I know of regarding any lawyering up on the part of her and her aides (though that could be done out of public sight).
Stretching the matter out as long as possible certainly aids them in creating the impression that this is yet another act of "the vast right wing conspiracy" that Hillary claimed was out to get them in somewhat analogous circumstances over two decades ago. In these situations the Clintons have successfully used stalling and denial, mixed with accusations of bad intent on the part of their opponents to avoid critical injury in analogous matters. They are pretty good at it, though the game may become less effective in the replay.
Since she is a favorite among many Democrats, and seen by many as the most electable candidate available, the party establishment and its supporters have powerful motives for helping her survive whatever legal jeopardy may exist. Joe Biden is clearly their Plan B, and it appeared they were getting ready to deploy it just before the last Bengazi hearings in Congress. That appears to have receeded since then, but I expect that if the Clinton campaign were to collapse we would see new candidates quickly emerge.
The surprising success of Bernie Sanders' campaign and the excitment he has stirred among an unexpectedly broad segment of Democrat voters has likely confounded the political strategies of all his political opponents (Though most Republicans appear to be continuing in the hope that he is unelectable - despite growing evidence they just might be wrong).
We are likely to see a continuation of the current war of words and accusations on both sides. I think the likely determining factors will be the possibility of the release (official or leaked) of new damaging information, and that of a sudden drop of Hillary's political support in the Democrat primaries, possibly as a result. Either or both could both raise the political cost of protecting her on the part of the current administration, and the urgency of executing a plan B for the Presidential election. In such an event we could see a sudden shift in the Administration's behavior.
It's also evident that Bernie Sander's political prospects play a powerful role in this element of the political calculus as well. It's a strange, volatile year politically and anything's possible.
