The Clinton email scandal continues to get worse by the day with State Department officials directly contradicting the long-standing account given by Hillary Clinton. Clinton has long maintained that she turned over a portion of her emails (those not deleted as “personal”) after receiving a letter that went to her and three of her predecessors: Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice as a routine inquiry. The gist is that there was nothing alarming about her exclusive use of a server under her control rather than the secured State Department system. State Department officials now confirm that the request was specifically related to the discovery that Clinton was using a personal email system as her exclusive means of communication. This revelation occurs the same week that the FBI has announced that it has already retrieved some of the emails and that the Clinton staffers who “wiped” the system did a poor job that left the material easily accessible — deepening the earlier concerns over the presence of what is now confirmed to be classified material on Clinton’s unsecured server. The FBI sources described Clinton’s IT person as “not very good.”
The Washington Post also reported this week that the State Department first contacted Clinton about turning over the emails at least three months before the letter referenced by Clinton. The suggestion is that Clinton latched on the later letter to reinforce her insistence that there was nothing improper or irregular in her use of a personal server under her control as her exclusive means of email communications. Clinton has repeatedly stated that “When we were asked to help the State Department make sure they had everything from other secretaries of state, not just me, I’m the one who said, ‘Okay, great, I will go through them again.'”
However, State Department spokesman John Kirby told the Post that officials first asked Clinton to provide her emails in the summer of 2014 in response to document requests from the House select committee investigating the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Kirby also noted that the later letter was actually prompted by the disclosure after the State Department was surprised to learn that it “did not have extensive email records from prior Secretaries of State and therefore included them when we requested their records in October 2014.”
Clinton was asked this week about the latest contradiction in her account but responded that “I don’t know that. I can’t answer that. All I know is that they sent the same letter to everybody. That’s my understanding.” The Des Moines Register said that Clinton repeatedly said “You’re telling me something I don’t know. All I know is what I have said. What I have said is it was allowed. The State Department has confirmed that. The same letter went to, as far as I know, my predecessors, and I’m the one who said, ‘Hey, I’ll be glad to help.'”
The bigger legal and political threat may be those retrieved emails. Clinton has insisted that none of the emails were “marked” classified — a fine distinction that I have previously questioned. As a federal court recently reaffirmed, she was clearly not in compliance with the standards set by the State Department. More importantly, much of her communications are considered presumptively classified and there is no one in her office actively stamping every email as classified in the discussion of State Department business. The retrieval of the emails raises the original question of the criteria used by Clinton’s aides in deleting thousands of emails. Clinton refused (until recently) to turn over the servers and insisted that it was left to her to unilaterally filter the emails. If some of those emails are found to be related to her office, it will magnify the controversy over the effort to first control her communications and then delete so many of the emails.
There is also a lingering danger of criminal charges both in the mishandling of classified information as well as potential violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 for false statements for people involved in this controversy. These contradictions certainly do not help politically but they can also complicate an already precarious legal position.
Well folks if you hate Hillary then vote for Bernie.
Dave, I don’t deify the Pope, nor do I adore him, I’m not even Catholic. I do however like many of the things he says about capitalism and global warming. I hold no special animus to the Catholic Church, since they seem to have tried to do the right thing at long last after the pedophile priest scandals. I don’t hold the Pope’s religious beliefs against him and would be grateful if all religious folks understood they can’t impose their religious beliefs on others. I don’t think he was doing so in his address to Congress. I think he might be the kind of Christian who would resign their position before denying someone their civil rights, who knows I may be wrong about him, but I think he is worthy of my respect as a decent human being.
Annie:
As a head of state, which is laughable, I don’t mind supporting his transport and security to meet with the president and other officials. But flying him to NY and Philadelphia for his personal Prayer Tour 2015 with 400 streets closed and on the taxpayer dime seems a bit much. US military Ospreys just transported the bishops and cardinals. Who’s paying for all this? And who pays the salary of a full-time chaplain in the House?? Misuse of taxpayer funds. Government is a civil institution, not a religious one (hence why it accepts marriage licenses from churches in support of gay marriage: it’s that simple).
Mammal in a costume with the same stale policies. Don’t forget it.
And Bart, yikes. It’s like conversing with a cracked brick.
*Personal* belief system. Correction.
The Pope speaking to Congress doesn’t threaten the Separation of Church and State. Some forget he is a Head of State himself. The real threat to our system of government and one that veers into being theocratical is a civil servant such as Kim Harris denying other Americans their civil rights based on their person religious belief system.
Mick/Forget,
Actually most of your rants sound as incoherent as you claim America is.
forgotwhoiam, is a notorious bigot, anti-Catholic and ant-Christian heathen, who delights in mocking and impugning a man, who has more sanctity in his little finger than forgotwoiam has in his entire hate-filled frame. The teaching of the Catholic Church is perfect on matters of faith and morals, sadly bad members and notorious clergy exist in it as well…for every scandalous priest , we have hundreds who fulfill their ordination promise and lead souls to Christ by the administration of the sacraments…nobody talks about AB Fulton Sheen or Saint Kolbe or Saint Teresa of Calcutta… only the failed homosexual clergy who have molested young men and boys…once the Church stops ordaining homosexuals, the molestation will disappear…like smoke from the end of a thurible…
Hillary defenders remind me of Baghdad Bob. Colin Powell gave a clear, forthright, rebuttal that he used private email like Hillary on MTP a few weeks ago.. It is tough for the dull witted people here to remember, but when Powell took office email was nascent. As you might expect, the State Dept. had old, horse manure computers. Being a military man, Powell knew the need to have a new, more secure system. So, between the time the new system w/ new computers were online, he had himself and key staff equipped w/ interim computers. They used a private email system but only for ROUTINE, NON CONFIDENTIAL communication. The example Powell gave to Chuck Todd was[paraphrased] I would email someone, about how they were coming on a project, or if the meeting time was OK. Routine logistical communications.
Of course, this won’t matter to the Hillary ditto heads. They will keep spreading lies from their lying cult leader. Hell, the biggest ditto head is a socialist and he won’t support Bernie. How stupid is that!
“There is also a lingering danger of criminal charges both in the mishandling of classified information as well as potential violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 for false statements for people involved in this controversy.”
Really? You expect people to believe Hillary will be prosecuted to fullest extend under 18 U.S.C. 1001?
Has the post-Nixon period for U.S. Govt elites not taught us anything?? Almost full immunity for those folks (I get that JT represents some of them so he’s always looking out for them)… Even if she is prosecuted don’t expect anything more than the proverbial slap on the wrist.
The Pope?
The Pope who presides over pervasive Catholic child molestation as is the CEO of one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet? That Pope?
Let’s see. Americans enjoy Freedom of Religion and maintain the Separation of Church and State in a nation this is not a theocracy.
Who promoted this demonstration of state religion in the halls of Congress?
This is grounds for impeachment.
Imagine, Americans, literally, preached to about behavior by the head of a church and particular religious sect that enabled child molestation and one that profiteers immensely, to this day, from the tale of the execution of a desacralizing rabble-rouser by the Sanhedrin and Roman Empire.
Does Congress now provide “equal time” to Atheists, Deists, Protestants, Buddhists and Muslims?
The Volkswagen CEO took the fall for fraud, Speaker Boehner should take the fall for violating the Constitution, attempting to impose a theocracy and nullifying the Freedom of Religion.
This is absolutely beyond the pale.
This pervasive rejection of rationality and objectivity by all branches of the government must signal an approaching inflection point.
America is going from a constitutional “tipping point” into abject incoherence.
I am here on Planet Earth to observe. We can read all emails of the world by tapping into the clouds. I can tell you that there is nothing to this “scandal”. But for you humans on Earth here do not think that any email is sacred when it goes through a cloud. The “diplomatic pouch” is much more difficult for us spys to invade.
The Pope sure is in trouble now! Baaaaad Pope, how dare he follow Christ’s teachings?
Kerry,
“When you’re strange” you’re on acid.
Well said bamboo…the most important act performed on this earth is the “holy sacrifice of the mass”…nothing compares…I witness a miracle every time I attend mass, at the words consecration…”this is my body,this is my blood”…the most important office is the ministerial priesthood…
Tune for this Queen Hillary email thread. The Doors. People Are Strange. Women seem wicked when you’re unwanted.
Is there anything we can do to reduce the power of the Executive branch. It just seems with every new administration, the new President seems to push the envelope a little further as to what he can do and not involve congress. Our government was designed to be safe, not fast.
Dave “What, like Hobby Lobby, Kim Davis, et al.?”
Do you feel the same way about the Pope inserting religion into the State (notice the upper case) by speaking about global warming like its Gods command that we recognize it. Says very little about abortion or gays rights but a lot about our capitalistic way of life and shame on the U.S. for not wanting to take in ALL illegal immigrants, without stating that the countries these illegals or refugees are coming from have some of worst human rights records in the world. He also forgot to mention that NO other country has taken more illegal immigrants and refugees Han the U.S.
He’s not a true Pope, he’s become a politician.
Let’s break this whole matter down succinctly:
Excellent summary, Darren. I hope you are right with your last point. I’m not very optimistic about it.
Dave: You despise Catholicism? What a sad comment from someone who probably has never attended Mass. Don’t you know that Catholicism is the one, true faith God gave mankind? After a recent visit to the Holy Land, I know that to be true.
Let’s ask Lois Lerner?
Who directed the IRS?
Where does the buck stop?
Let’s check the phone and e-record.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House is balling his eyes out as America is turned into a theocracy.
Washington D.C. needs to be impeached.