Hillary Clinton has insisted throughout the ongoing email scandal on two points repeated as a virtual mantra: there was no classified material sent on her unsecured personal email system and she was in total compliance with the law. I have questioned both points and noted that she is really saying that no “marked” classified material was sent (a less than compelling argument) and she is speaking of federal criminal laws as opposed to the clear official policy not to use such personal servers. It appears clear that some of this material was indeed classified and, as I discussed this week on NPR, the policy against doing what she did was clear and strong at the time of her tenure at State. Now, United States District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan has weighed in with comments this week that Clinton clearly did violate State Department policy and that violation caused much of the difficulty in retrieving her communications while in office.
What is now clear is that Clinton used her personal server exclusively (something that is extremely rare) and that she conducted official business of State over the unsecured system (including the transmission of material now deemed classified).
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. As Secretary, Clinton received the highest level of intelligence and there is always a concern that second generation discussions will be influenced or reveal such information. That is why State Department people are asked to conduct official business on the secure system. 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.
The policy referenced by the Court was evident in a communication that out under Clinton’s name to all State Department employees that warned them to “[a]void conducting official Department business from your personal email accounts.” There is also a 2005 department manual covering the transmitting of information that is “sensitive but unclassified.” The manual said that department-related email should go through servers authorized by the department.
In the latest hearing on the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, Judge Sullivan noted “We wouldn’t be here today if this employee had followed government policy.” The Court noted that the failure to comply with clear policies had complicated the State Department’s ability to respond to requests for records. He further ordered the server (which was only recently turned over by Clinton after months of refusal) to be examined for any response emails. That server was reportedly wiped clean before it was turned over by Clinton staff members though it may be possible for some of the material to be retrieved.
The Justice Department and State Department have been opposing all efforts to secure the information. Justice Department lawyer Peter Wechsler argued that the open records law normally doesn’t allow for searches of government officials’ private accounts, but Judge Sullivan said that this was a different situation because “there was a violation of government policy” and “We’re not talking about a search of anyone’s random email.”
In the FOIA lawsuit, Judicial Watch is seeking records about the employment arrangements of longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who served Clinton’s deputy chief of staff at the State Department but later moved to a part-time position while also doing private consulting work.
A tense moment arose when Wechsler said he did not know whether the FBI was actually in possession of Clinton’s server or thumb drives. “You’re a Justice Department attorney?….You can’t tell me? . . . I need to get an answer . . . We’re tiptoeing on the head of a pin because there’s only one government.”
Is violating State Dept. policy a violation of law (if it is, then I’m all for tarring and feathering her), or is this just the political equivalent of the girl with the blue dress on? Vilifying Clinton here while Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld walk free, even Obama’s murder by drone and assassination plots, without congressional approval, borders on absolute absurdity.
Let’s waive flags in front of the White House for murdering OBL,even though Obama violated international and constitutional mandate in doing so.
This is the political version of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Now, back to the Tom Brady’s Innocent Project.
stevegroen – thank you for doing your part for the Let’s Protect Hillary at All Costs.
Paul,
Another problem for Hillary is Huma Abedin, wife of disgraced Senator Anthony Weiner. If FEDs subpoena her and loosen up tongue a little…..Anthony does have an explosive temper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDJA4h8T0D0
Intelligence community officials have formally asked Secretary of State John Kerry to strip former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of her security clearance along with three of her top aides.
Asking Kerry that he “immediately suspend the security clearances” because of Clinton’s use of a private unsecured email server and domain name that contains classified information.
The group also asked Kerry to administratively suspend the security clearances of Clinton and aides Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin and Jake Sullivan.
Jerry – my guess is that Kerry does not have the balls to do it.
Invoking Shakespeare assigns far too much credit. It’s more flagrant, arguably disqualifying disingenuousness to avoid subsequent lawful scrutiny.
If one wants secrecy, he or she shouldn’t be in public service.
Do not forget she lied to a court as a lawyer on a rape case in 1992. Spoke on her own tape with the rapist.
She has a cover up history. So, why not continue to lie about everything else.
She also lied about knowingly hiring illegal aliens as cheap labor.
No green card scandal in 1994.
By the way to scrub a server to completely wipe the formatted data is only one way.
Destroy the hard drives. Even formatted drives can be recovered.
Take her security clearance away now!!!!
Trump and Hillary are Nazi Zionist Traitors to America
http://www.buenavistamall.com/trumpNazi.jpg
Hitlery Clinton is a Mass Murderer / War Criminal, Traitor.
http://www.buenavistamall.com/hillary_prison.jpg
Anybody guessed what Bill’s alias is on Ashley Madison?
My money’s on Biden with Warren as V.P. if that happens were sunk
It’s going to come down to potential harm. Is there a fleet of aircraft carriers steaming towards the continental USA? Did our most secret weapon designs fall into the hands of the Taliban? Did the architectural structural design drawings for Trump’s hat fall into the hands of Putin?
So far we are dealing with arrogance, self righteousness, weaseling, and a large degree of disconnect on the part of Clinton, with a smattering of incompetence. Take a peek at the rest of the mob and see if you find any difference. The emphasis seems to be 2/3 Republican standard rant regardless of the issue which has hit on the other 1/3, Clinton the target. The Republican record during the Obama administration is more than proof of this. Regardless of his arrogance and other shortcomings, Obama was the right man for the job. He has cleared most of the train wreck that was 8 years of Republican administration from the tracks; in spite of treasonous Republican actions.
Take a peek at Rubio whose only claim is that his grandfather came to this country from Cuba and worked hard 40 hours a week. Rubio is a financial disaster who probably eclipses the midget cowboy for financial ineptitude. Fiorina sewered HP and was booted out, yet uses this as her argument to run the country. Trump eclipses Clinton ten times over for arrogance and disconnect. Trump is the only one who is more ridiculous than the midget cowboy as a President when seen from the rest of the world. I know, a true American doesn’t give a hoot what the rest of the world thinks. But most likely more than half of all Americans will side with the rest of the world. With varying styles and degrees of disconnect the rest of the pack is not much if anything to hang a hat on.
So, take a trip down memory lane: Nixon-Watergate, Reagan-Iran Contra, Bush-Iraq and too much to list here. It will be, until the structure of oligarchical politics is changed in the US, business as usual. Clinton is the least dangerous of the whole mob. America has shown it can endure even the most disastrous administrations; eight years of the three stooges has proven this. The question is do we have to prove that again or should we move forward cleaning up their mess as well as other messes imbedded in the American Way.
What America needs most is continuity in the move towards invigorating the economy on a long term basis, not the tax cut=short term easy money=followed by recession routines of Reagan and Bush.
In the end it comes down to potential harm. The potential harm of a Republican President in this environment would be a thousand times more disastrous than any Clinton transgressions.
Dave, The Clinton’s are obsessively secret control freaks. That is the answer to your question why the allegedly “smartest woman in the world” did it. Nixon was smart and flawed like the Clinton’s. If you read Shakespeare you will understand.
I don’t understand why this mostly savvy (whether you like her or not) politician would go through all that effort of employing her own server and using her own phones to handle
some of the most sensitive information in the U.S. government.
Why do it. Honest question. (Along with the complete lack of foresight over how this could be controversial and mar her own campaign.)
So separate of all the right-wing throw-everything-against-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks moaning: Clinton absolutely undermined herself.
Republicans always want to associate her with the word “scandal,” so I dismiss their one-after-another conspiracy theories. But this email issue is damaging.
By the way, the empty claim that she’s a lock for the nomination is exactly what was said in 2008. How’d that turn out.
The Clintonista trolls are onto this thread!
So what at this point in 2015? So she ran a red light. No accident. No one was harmed. Great news to hear. I am glad that Hillary is not “Miss Goody Two Shoes!” I think I might break down and send her some campaign money.
Anybody care to elevate the discourse of campaign issues this season?
Well, well, well, well.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jCHHJdmqAH4/hqdefault.jpg
No Administration has had more contempt for the FOIA than this Administration. JT has been hitting hard on the Uber Presidency. He knows this woman would take this to even more unconstitutional level if she were ever elected President. That MUST never occur.
Reblogged this on Scoop Feed.
Yes. Let’s have the internationally despised Donald Trump for President instead. Whatever Hillary has done is so much worse than whatever he has done.
Boom! Nothing more to say here! He’s right and I don’t mean right wing conspiracy. This one comes from her own side.