It's so hard to pin this down, as she was the SoS. When people go "A person with lesser political pull would have been convicted of a felony under similar circumstances," it's disingenuous because you can't be Secretary of State without political influence. Her position with the State Department means everything in this context.
So, when we talk about her being a former employee... by whom was she employed? She's appointed by the president, but in the State Department, to whom does she answer? I guess Obama has to answer for anything she does to the American public, but beyond that? I somehow think a regular clerk doing something like this would be so outside of their authority that it would be hard to argue there wasn't criminal intent. So, I don't even know if I can fully grasp this situation. But I do think her authority as Secretary of State makes it hard to compare her actions to that of a deputized underling or military official.
I guess it doesn't matter now as far as this election goes. I doubt Trump has a clear understanding of what transpired nor do I think he has the capacity to explain this to his perspective constituents in a way that will make it political advantageous for him beyond the general 'Clinton is crooked' narrative Republican propaganda have made a mountain of despite having a molehill to work with.
