A State Department audit has found Hillary Clinton’s private email server broke department rules

WASHINGTON — The State Department’s internal watchdog has concluded that Hillary Clinton clearly broke its rules when using a private email server as secretary of state, saying the practice created a security risk and violated transparency and disclosure policies.

The highly critical report, sent to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, is certain to create more political problems for Clinton by feeding into the narrative Republican opponents have long worked to build: that Clinton does not follow the same rules as everyone else and that she has not been open with the American public.

The department’s inspector general found she engaged in emailing practices that exposed sensitive information to breach, disregarded department policies that discouraged such methods of communicating and failed to promptly turn records laws. The staffer was over all relevant correspondence told “that the Secretary’s personal to the department. system had been reviewed

The 79-page report does not and approved by Department criticize only Clinton. It found a legal staff and that Republican predecessor, Colin the matter was not to be discussed Powell, to have committed similar any further,” according violations. The finding may to the report. help inoculate Clinton against The inspector general’s office the partisan attack the report is found no evidence that any certain to generate. such legal review had been

Clinton spokesman Brian done. Fallon said Wednesday that the Clinton sought to come into report confirmed the State Department compliance with open records has had long-standing requirements in December 2014 systemic problems related by turning over some 30,000 to its electronic record-keeping emails to State that she said represented practices. all of her government

“While political opponents of correspondence during her Hillary Clinton are sure to misrepresent time there. But since that time, this report for their emails have emerged that own partisan purposes, in reality, should have been turned over the inspector general documents but were not. The inspector general just how consistent her called the December 2014 email practices were with those document dump “incomplete.” of other secretaries and senior Clinton said she had exchanged officials at the State Department an equal number of who also used personal personal messages through her email,” he said in a statement. server while she was secretary

But the report is nonetheless of state and that those messages a treasure trove for Republican had been deleted. opposition researchers. There Clinton’s campaign has been is one section of the report preparing for the release of the which reveals that technology report for months. Earlier in staffers who raised concerns the presidential race, it accused about Clinton’s use of email in the State Department of working late 2010 were told to stop talking together with congressional about it. One staffer was Republicans to undermine her told their mission was “to support — a charge the office has denied. the Secretary” and to “never The investigation spanned to speak of the Secretary’s party lines, digging into the personal email again,” according practices of secretaries of state to the report. since Madeleine Albright. Albright,

The other staffer warned Powell, Condoleezza Clinton was sending and receiv- Rice and John F. Kerry all ing emails that needed to be preserved agreed to be interviewed for the to comply with open investigation. Clinton declined.