This week, Hillary Clinton doubled down on the email scandal in a speech that appeared to mock the ongoing investigation of her use of an unsecured email system during her time as Secretary of State and dismissing questions over her use the system as pure politics. She even joked “You may have seen that I recently launched a Snapchat account. I love it. I love it. Those messages disappear all by themselves.” It is a great line but it is only funny for those who are entirely untroubled by the real danger that Clinton put national security secrets at risk by insisting on retaining control over her own emails and server. One group that is not laughing are former intelligence officials who have accused the government, again, of showing special treatment for powerful figures in the mishandling of classified material or current officials who are continuing to classify hundreds of emails from Clinton’s records. The number of Hillary Clinton emails now flagged for classification has grown to 300. The number is expected to rise even higher as the agencies plow through thousands of emails that remain after the Clinton staff erased thousands of others from the server.
Clinton again insisted that “I never sent classified material on my email, and I never received any that was marked classified.” The key of this spin is again the word “marked.” I have previously discussed why that explanation is less than compelling, particularly for anyone who has handled sensitive or classified material. As I discussed earlier, virtually anything coming out of the office of the Secretary of State would be considered classified as a matter of course. I have had a TS/SCI clearance since Reagan due to my national security work and have lived under the restrictions imposed on email and other systems. The defense is that this material was not technically classified at the time that it was sent. Thus it was not “classified” information. The problem is that it was not reviewed and classified because it was kept out of the State Department system. Moreover, most high-level communications are treated as classified and only individually marked as classified when there is a request for disclosure. You do not generate material as the Secretary of State and assume that it is unclassified. You are supposed to assume and treat it as presumptively classified. Otherwise, there would be massive exposure of classified material and willful blindness as to the implications of the actions of persons disregarding precautions. For example, there is not a person standing next to the President with a classification stamp in the Oval Office. However, those communications are deemed as presumptively classified and are not disclosed absent review. Under the same logic, the President could use a personal email system because his text messages by definition are not marked as classified. This is the whole reason that Clinton and others were told to use the protected email system run by the State Department. We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to secure such systems. Even the Washington Post is now reporting that Clinton’s statements that there was no classified information on her server appear to be “untrue.”
Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd in Iowa that “It’s not about Benghazi. And you know what, it’s not about e-mails or servers either. It’s about politics.” Despite both the State Department and intelligence agencies now finding hundreds of classified emails, Clinton has portrayed the entire matter to be the work of political operatives. In an incredible spin, she has insisted that she is the one who is serious about national security and the protection of secrets in this controversy in refusing to answer questions:
“I won’t get down in the mud with them. I won’t play politics with national security or dishonor the memory of those we lost. I won’t pretend this is anything other than what it is: the same old partisan games we’ve seen so many times before. I don’t care how many super PACs and Republicans pile on. I’ve been fighting for families and underdogs my entire life and I’m not going to stop now.”
Those words are likely to leave many grinding their teeth in the intelligence agencies after Clinton refused for months to turn over the server and then turned over a server that had been wiped clean — unilaterally destroying tens of thousands of emails that were on the server but cannot now be reviewed.
The number of flagged emails is now over 300. Some 305 have already been sent to various agencies for review.
The steady worsening of the scandal stands in stark contrast to the rhetoric of denial coming from the Clinton camp. At the very least, the use of a personal server was reckless and clearly designed to allow Clinton’s staff to control her emails (few people are buying the spin that Clinton just wanted to avoid carrying more than one device). Many view the refusal to use the secured State Department email system as a signature Clintonian move to retain control over information. The decision clearly put national security secrets as risk and I would be astonished if foreign intelligence did not target the vulnerable server. What is striking is that Clinton continues to deny that this was obviously bad judgment and a bad practice for any high-ranking government official. She is not the first to commit such errors but the campaign is unwilling to alter its initial position of denial and mockery of the controversy. This is not a political hatchet job. I dealt with classified material for decades. This is a serious potential breach in my view and the view of people who worked with such material for a living.
In the end, the Clinton campaign may be calculating that denial will get her through the primary even if she will have taken severe damage for the general election. The campaign clearly views Bernie Sanders as no real threat and that the opposition in the primary is still incapable of challenging Clinton with the money and party leadership behind her. Nevertheless, her national lead has called from 40 points to 19 points nationally.
“Jeffery Sterling was sentenced almost 3 years in a Federal Jail facility for a SINGLE missing email linking him to a NY Times reporter.”
CIA Director Patraeus resigned under pressure and was convicted of mishandling classified information.
President Clinton pardoned former CIA director Deutch for retaining classified materials on his personal computers after leaving office. Apparently the earlier DOJ decision not to prosecute was politically motivated.
Do you think Clinton can get a pardon from the Obama administration?
Kasich sounds quite normal. They probably won’t pick him. Rand Paul is pretty much finished. Scott Walker fizzled in the debate as Cruz proved himself to be the far more intelligent right winger. The top four are Trump, Carson, Bush and Cruz. Could very well stay that way……
One of the hardest pills to swallow was the “He may be the biggest SOB around, but he’s our SOB.” I believe a Republican said that.
Hillary may be the most condescending politician and incredibly and breathtakingly phony politician there is, with all the lies, elitism, cronyism, etc., ND said that; but she is by far the least of all evils and the best chance for continuity in the mammoth repair job left by the three stooges. The little cowboy and his handlers left such a mess that it will take at least 16 years of intelligence to sort it out. Along the way some long overdue faults might just get fixed like: health care insurance, diplomatic force integrated with military force, regeneration of the middle class, repatriation of American expertise and wealth to the US, etc.
She is no more slimy than any other politician. She might keep her mouth shut from time to time though.
No, a better alternative would be voting for Hildebeest, who, allegedly, pressured, intimidated and threatened women over the course of years to remain silent with regard to Bill’s various sexual assaults that go back decades. Yes, Hildebeest is the true champion of women and their safety. She cares about rape victims, just not the ones that her Billy Boy abused. Those victims will be silenced with threats and intimidation.
Inga “The bottom line is that Democrats will hold their noses and vote for her because what is the alternative?” Maybe a republican candidate that would force an 11 year old rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term.
There are laws and there are little people who must follow them.
Gratefully, Hillary in Her Wonderfulness is not beholden to such encumbrances, meant only for lowly serfs. PBUH!
Jeffery Sterling was sentenced almost 3 years in a Federal Jail facility for a SINGLE missing email linking him to a NY Times reporter. How many is Hillary missing again ?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/jurors-tell-judge-they-cant-agree-in-cia-leak-trial-of-jeffrey-sterling/2015/01/26/db819f78-a57c-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html
Ditto Inga.
Clearly, voting for an untrustworthy, lying, cheating, venal, paranoid, heartless, incompetent and foolish Democrat is far better than the alternative.
No more Clinton’s and no more Bush’s…no more Obama either please!!!
Would you hold your nose and vote for Al Capone? Hillary reminds me of him, except she’s more frightening and not as handsome. The authorities couldn’t pin anything on Al, until, of course, they finally nailed him for tax evasion, of all things. This whole email fiasco will finally be Hillary’s undoing–her tax evasion, so to speak.
True story:
I once had a client who was related to Al Capone. Yes, the real Al Capone. I was careful to never say anything disparaging about his relative, when, and if, his relative’s name was ever mentioned. He once confided in me and told me that his not-too-distant relative had only one problem. What was it, you ask?
Al Capone was simply a misunderstood businessman.
Yep, I kid you not.
I suppose that the Hildebeest is simply a misunderstood politician. Let’s just hold our noses and vote for her.
The bottom line is that Democrats will hold their noses and vote for her because what is the alternative? We have issues such as climate change, illegal immigration, women’s issues, voter rights, the protection of social safety nets, the halting of endless wars, etc. that are in jeopardy if another Republican makes it to the White House. Republicans are a joke, look who is their front runner.
Ouch!!
I wonder if Huma is going to end up being Hillary’s bitch in prison.
How many people have security clearance? How are those folks different from all the rest of us? Are they the “good guys”, allowed to have insider information, and the rest of us are “bad guys”, not allowed to know what our own government employees are doing in our name? Millions of government communications annually are labeled secret. Is there any good reason for that other than to cover up corruption and incompetence?
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/newsadvance.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/73/9736e4a2-c9b4-11e4-b450-1b22885c94f8/550336422a6b6.image.jpg
Again our polemicist buries the lede. Dude, Start off w/ your patented “Hillary is the lesser of evil” meme.
jfwhiting, The problem w/ Clinton’s server and her lies are not the only problem. We are now seeing, via FOIA requests made by various news agencies, that emails on the State Dept. server have been deleted. And, some of these deletions occurred AFTER Hillary left State. We know this Obama Administration has taken Nixonian tactics to a much higher level. I want to put on the record once again, when Obama is golfing in Palm Springs after he leaves office, the feces is going to hit the fan.
“In the end, the Clinton campaign may be calculating that denial will get her through the primary even if she will have taken severe damage for the general election. The campaign clearly views Bernie Sanders as no real threat and that the opposition in the primary is still incapable of challenging Clinton with the money and party leadership behind her. Nevertheless, her national lead has called from 40 points to 19 points nationally.”
This is a pivotal point in this issue. All politicians lie, weasel, scheme, hide, bob and weave. No Politician will apologize except on the way out the door. Clinton, lined up with the alternatives is still the best choice. The opposition will hold America hostage to get their way. They have already proved that. They will see Americans broken rather than give in to the opposition. The Republican party is fractured and at cross purposes.
Clinton is many things, including that which her detractors rant and rave. However, line her up against any alternative and the alternative is nothing less than scary.
Compare Nixon errasing Whitehouse tape with Clinton deleting 1000’s of government documents.
The condescension that drips from this incredibly phony woman is breathtaking. Put aside all the lies, elitism, cronyism, etc. What the Dems have is a candidate who, the more she campaigns, the more undecided voters HATE her.