Clinton emails said to contain classified data
Washington— Government investigators said Friday that they had discovered classified information on the private email account that Hillary Rodham Clinton used while secretary of state, stating unequivocally that those secrets never should have been stored outside of secure government computer systems.
Clinton has said for months that she kept no classified information on the private server that she set up in her house so she would not have to carry both a personal phone and a work phone. Her campaign said Friday that any government secrets found on the server had been classified after the fact.
But the inspectors general of the State Department and the nation’s intelligence agencies said the information they found was classified when it was sent and remains so now. Information is considered classified if its disclosure would likely harm national security, and such information can be sent or stored only on computer networks with special safeguards.
“This classified information never should have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system,” Steve A. Linick, the State Department inspector general, said in a statement signed by him and I. Charles McCullough III, the inspector general for the intelligence community.
The findings by the two inspectors general raise new questions about Clinton’s use of her personal email at the State Department, a practice that since March has been criticized
“We are all accountable to the American people to get the facts right, and I will do my part.” HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
by Clinton’s Republican adversaries as well as advocates of open government, and has made some Democrats uneasy. Voters, however, do not appear swayed by the issue, according to polls.
In their joint statement, the inspectors general said the classified information had originated with the nation’s intelligence agencies, such as the CIA or National Security Agency. It is against the law for someone to receive a classified document or briefing and then summarize that information in an unclassified email.
The two investigators did not say whether Clinton sent or received the emails. If she received them, it is not clear that she would have known that they contained government secrets, since they were not marked classified. The inspectors general did not address whether they believed that Clinton should have known such information was not appropriate for her personal email.
Regardless, the disclosure is an example of an unforeseen consequence of Clinton’s unusual computer setup. Security experts have questioned whether her practice made government secrets more vulnerable to security risks and hacking.
Exactly how much classified information Clinton had on the server is unclear. Investigators said they searched a sample of 40 emails and found four that contained government secrets. But McCullough said in a separate statement that although the State Department had granted limited access to its own inspector general,
“If Secretary Clinton truly has nothing to hide, she can prove it by immediately turning over her server to the proper authorities and allowing them to examine the complete record.” JOHN A. BOEHNER, R-OHIO, SPEAKER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
the department rejected McCullough’s request for access to the 30,000 emails that Clinton said were government-related and gave to the State Department.
Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall, is “purported” to also have copies of the 30,000 emails on a thumb drive, according to McCullough.
Campaigning in New York on Friday, Clinton pledged to cooperate with inquiries into her emails but also said she would stay focused on the issues at the heart of her presidential campaign.
“We are all accountable to the American people to get the facts right, and I will do my part,” Clinton said. “But I’m also going to stay focused on the issues, particularly the big issues, that really matter to American families.”
The discovery of the four emails prompted McCullough to refer the matter to FBI counterintelligence agents, who investigate crimes related to the mishandling of classified information. On Thursday night and again Friday morning, the Justice Department referred to the matter as a “criminal referral,” but later Friday dropped the word “criminal.” The inspectors general said late Friday that it was a “security referral” intended to alert authorities that “classified information may exist on at least one private server and thumb drive that are not in the government’s possession.”
Irrespective of the terminology, the referral raises the possibility of a Justice Department investigation into Clinton’s emails as she campaigns for president. Polls show she is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination by a wide margin.
Mishandling classified information is a crime. Justice Department officials said no decision had been made about whether to open a criminal investigation.
The refusal by the State Department to give McCullough access to the emails has reignited calls by Republicans for Clinton to hand over the server that she used to house the personal email account.
“If Secretary Clinton truly has nothing to hide, she can prove it by immediately turning over her server to the proper authorities and allowing them to examine the complete record,” House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday. “Her poor judgment has undermined our national security, and it is time for her to finally do the right thing.”
The Justice Department is typically reluctant to open politically charged investigations unless there is clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing. For example, authorities said last year that they would not open an investigation into dueling claims by the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee in a dispute that also centered around access to classified information.