First, whether the e-mails were still classified by the time they were recovered is irrelevant.  The fact they were classified when they were sent is what makes it a crime.

Second, many of the recovered e-mails have still not been made available to the public, because they remain classified.

"What? Not ruthlessly destroyed by the evil Hilary never to be seen again?"

Correct.  30,000 e-mails were turned over subject to the congressional subpoena, and 33,000 were deleted, which were also subject to the subpoena.  Of the deleted e-mails, roughly half were eventually recovered, and "some" (an unspecified number) were deemed by the FBI to be work related, making them government property.

"And very summarily closed again with much less fanfare than for the re-opening."

You are making Trump's point for him.  Clinton did exactly what Trump has been accused of doing, but her home wasn't raided by the FBI, and she was never prosecuted.

"Two wrongs' are not two wrongs, they are more like one wrong of incompetence shared by previous occupiers of the post that might have caused harm but did not..."

How do you know no harm was done?  We don't know the contents of the e-mails that were marked Top Secret; Special Access.  That is the highest level of classification.  And we don't know whether any of her e-mails were ever compromised.  It was only by accident that e-mails were found on Anthony Weiner's laptop; a device Huma Abedine should never have used to conduct State Department business.

If a foreign power did hack Clinton's e-mails and gain access to sensitive information, that is something the government would not likely disclose for strategic reasons.

You really want to excuse Hilary Clinton's conduct because she was incompetent?  Extremely careless and indifferent is more like it.  She certainly had enough training in the handling of classified documents that it is outrageous to suggest she didn't know how to properly handle classified information.

Like Trump, she did what was convenient for her, and willfully disregarded normal procedure.  Secretary Clinton is very fortunate she was not prosecuted and sent to prison over this. It is NOT a manufactured or minor scandle.

During Clinton's tenure, there was an unprecedented, department wide disregard for procedural norms.  It was "suddenly an issue" because many Republicans accused Clinton of using the influence of her position to set up "Pay to Play" scenarios, whereby foreign powers or individuals were given preferential treatment by the government after funneling money into the Clinton Foundation.  Those who accused Clinton claimed her inner circle did not use normal channels of communication because they did not want their communications to be seen.

I agree with your comment regarding Bush/Cheney.  The unfortunate reality is that there is corruption at the highest level of government among members of both parties.

I find it ironic and reprehensible that someone like Trump, who campaigned on "draining the swamp" now wants to excuse his misconduct by saying previous administrations did the same thing.  Yes, they did do the same thing, and it was just as wrong when they did it as it was when he did.

Nobody said that.  I said there are corrupt politicians in both parties, including Hilary Clinton, who I believe is among the worst of them.

There are also people in both parties who are good public servants that do a good job.  As a Republican, here are 5 Democrats I have supported in my state, and whom I will continue to support in 2014 because they have integrity and are good at their jobs:

Aaron Ford, NV State Attorney General

Zach Conine, NV State Treasurer

Debbie Conway, Clark County Recorder

Steve Wolfson, Clark County District Attorney

Ross Miller, Clark County Commissioner (former Secy of State and AG)