{"id":24787,"date":"2015-10-31T21:01:56","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T01:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=24787"},"modified":"2015-10-31T21:14:03","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T01:14:03","slug":"24787","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=24787","title":{"rendered":"Hillary Must Still Face The Music, Server And Email Put National Security At Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"story-header\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">As Benghazi inquiry fades, Clinton still faces legal questions about emails<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"row story-rail-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wide-rail\">\n<div class=\"toplines\">\n<h3>HIGHLIGHTS<\/h3>\n<p>\u2022 FBI examines handling of sensitive information during former secretary\u2019s term<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 At least 671 emails she sent or received now contain classified information<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 State Department releases latest batch of Democratic presidential hopeful\u2019s emails<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_24792\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-10-31-at-8.59.39-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-24792\" class=\"wp-image-24792\" src=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-10-31-at-8.59.39-PM.png\" alt=\"Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her testimony Oct. 22 on Benghazi. Carolyn Kaster AP\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-10-31-at-8.59.39-PM.png 790w, https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Screen-Shot-2015-10-31-at-8.59.39-PM-300x201.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-24792\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her testimony Oct. 22 on Benghazi. Carolyn Kaster AP<\/p><\/div>\n<p>BY ANITA KUMAR AND GREG GORDON<br \/>\nMcClatchy Washington Bureau<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article24782737.html\/o\/t_blank\" target=\"_blank\">Hillary Clinton<\/a> appears to have overcome an\u00a0<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/congress\/article40827942.html\" target=\"_blank\">investigation<\/a> of her role in the 2012 deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, but she still faces a <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/nation-world\/national\/article37968711.html\" target=\"_blank\">months-long FBI inquiry<\/a> into the handling of sensitive information while she was <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/article24744160.html\" target=\"_blank\">secretary of state<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s Counterintelligence Division, which opened its review this summer after <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article28519741.html\" target=\"_blank\">classified information<\/a> was found in emails transmitted over Clinton\u2019s private email server<strong>, <\/strong>is under pressure to act quickly, as Clinton is in the midst of <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article24785710.html\" target=\"_blank\">running<\/a> for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/article40485129.html\/video-embed\" width=\"640\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"line-height: 24px;\">The Buzz with Buzz: Benghazi &amp; Hillary&#8217;s emails are history repeating itself<\/span><\/strong><br style=\"line-height: 24px;\" \/><span style=\"line-height: 24px;\">&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<br \/>\nWhat do Hillary\u2019s emails and Monica Lewinsky have in common? Both were scandals discovered because Congress investigated a Clinton. As Hillary prepares to appear before the Benghazi Committee on October 22, McClatchy political editor Steven \u201cBuzz\u201d Thomma remembers the last time a Clinton appeared before a congressional committee. (Natalie Fertig \/ McClatchy)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Attorneys who have handled classified information cases say the bureau, initially asked to examine whether <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article24781261.html\" target=\"_blank\">Clinton\u2019s arrangement<\/a>\u00a0compromised national security secrets, ultimately will have to consider whether she and her aides failed to sufficiently safeguard sensitive information.<\/p>\n<p>They disagree about whether there\u2019s enough evidence to prosecute her or her aides for sending and receiving government messages over the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article24781309.html\" target=\"_blank\">personal email system.<\/a> routed through a private computer server in the basement of her New York home.<\/p>\n<p>But most who spoke to McClatchy say it\u2019s unlikely the former first lady, senator and Cabinet secretary will face charges because of her high profile and the hurdle to prove she knew the emails contained classified information when she sent them to others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s too big to jail,\u201d said national security attorney <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.martindale.com\/Edward-B-MacMahon-Jr\/369616-lawyer.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Edward MacMahon Jr.<\/a>, who represented former CIA employee Jeffrey Sterling in 2011 in a leak case that led to an espionage prosecution and 3\u00bd-year prison term. He cited a pattern of light punishments for top government officials who have mishandled classified information while lower level whistleblowers such as Sterling have faced harsh prosecutions for revealing sensitive information to expose waste, fraud or abuse in government.<\/p>\n<p>At least 671 emails that <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article24782737.html\" target=\"_blank\">Clinton<\/a> sent or received through her private server contained <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/article29519419.html\" target=\"_blank\">classified material<\/a>, according to the State Department\u2019s latest update Friday from its ongoing review of more than 30,000 emails. Her aides also sent and received classified information.<\/p>\n<p>In response to a public records lawsuit, the department released another <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/foia.state.gov\/Search\/Results.aspx?collection=Clinton_Email_October_Release\" target=\"_blank\">7,200 pages <\/a>of Clinton\u2019s emails after partially or entirely redacting any containing sensitive U.S. or foreign government information on a range of issues.<\/p>\n<p>The inspectors general of the State Department and intelligence community have said that some contained classified information when they were generated, but they were not marked that way at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the classified emails are at the \u201cconfidential\u201d level \u2013 the lowest level of classification \u2013 but if additional emails are determined to be the more sensitive \u201csecret\u201d or highly sensitive \u201ctop secret\u201d levels, it would raise the gravity of a potential security breach.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.arentfox.com\/people\/peter-zeidenberg#.VjN9Ubf2DIU\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Zeidenberg<\/a>, a former federal prosecutor who handles cases against local, state and federal officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney\u2019s chief of staff, <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/white-house\/article24465955.html\" target=\"_blank\">Scooter Libby<\/a>, for leaking the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, said Clinton\u2019s actions may have been foolish but not necessarily illegal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the emails were not marked, it would not be possible \u2013 at least not in my view \u2013 to establish that Ms. Clinton knowingly mishandled classified information,\u201d he said. \u201cHow was she to know that this was classified if it was not marked?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, experts say that if Clinton aides pasted classified information into emails to her without including markings signaling the material was classified they could face felony charges.<\/p>\n<p>Clinton\u2019s campaign declined to comment for this story. Clinton initially said she did not send or receive any classified information \u2013 a denial she later adjusted, saying that none was marked as classified at the time.<\/p>\n<div id=\"highline-quote-1\" class=\"highline highline-quote\">\n<blockquote><p>I AM CONFIDENT THAT I NEVER SENT OR RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION THAT WAS CLASSIFIED AT THE TIME IT WAS SENT AND RECEIVED.<br \/>\n<em><span class=\"ng_highline_attrib\">Hillary Clinton on July 25<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>After months of dwindling poll numbers, Clinton is savoring a strong couple of weeks on the campaign trail after <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article39170190.html\" target=\"_blank\">standout performances<\/a> at the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article39020673.html\" target=\"_blank\">first debate<\/a> and at an <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/congress\/article40827942.html\" target=\"_blank\">11-hour grilling<\/a> about Benghazi on Capitol Hill, as well as a decision by <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article40775517.html\" target=\"_blank\">Vice President Joe Biden <\/a>not to challenge her.<\/p>\n<p>Still, a federal investigation can\u2019t be good for a presidential campaign, particularly if it stretches into a general election when Clinton would be trying to woo more skeptical Republicans and independents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as you have an FBI investigation, it\u2019s a question mark,\u201d said <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.selzerco.com\/contact.html\" target=\"_blank\">Ann Selzer<\/a>, the leading pollster in the crucial early nominating state of Iowa.<\/p>\n<p>Brad Coker, managing director at Mason-Dixon Polling &amp; Research in Jacksonville, Fla., predicts Clinton will win the nomination over her chief rival, Vermont Sen. <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/politics-government\/election\/article40474809.html\" target=\"_blank\">Bernie Sanders<\/a>, unless she is criminally charged.<\/p>\n<p>FBI officials have declined to say whether the inquiry has expanded into the actions of her or her aides. Clinton\u2019s campaign has acknowledged she turned over to the FBI the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/nation-world\/national\/article30794604.html\" target=\"_blank\">server and thumb drives <\/a>holding more than 30,000 emails.<\/p>\n<p>In recent congressional testimony, FBI Director James Comey confirmed his agency is looking into the issue but declined to discuss details of the investigation besides saying he has the \u201cresources and personnel\u201d he needs for the inquiry.<\/p>\n<div id=\"highline-quote-2\" class=\"highline highline-quote\">\n<blockquote><p>THIS IS ONE I AM FOLLOWING VERY CLOSELY AND GET BRIEFED ON REGULARLY. I\u2019M CONFIDENT WE HAVE THE PEOPLE AND RESOURCES TO DO IT IN THE WAY I BELIEVE WE DO ALL OUR WORK, WHICH IS PROMPTLY, PROFESSIONALLY AND INDEPENDENTLY.<br \/>\n<em><span class=\"ng_highline_attrib\">FBI Director James Comey to the House Oversight Committee this month<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Comey, a Republican, would approve any initial recommendation for a prosecution, but it would be left to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, a Democrat, to decide whether to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>Legal experts say investigators could be looking into potential violations of <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/18\/1924\" target=\"_blank\">Section 1924 of Title 18<\/a>, which deals with the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, or even the <a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/18\/part-I\/chapter-37\" target=\"_blank\">Espionage Act<\/a>, which makes it a crime for anyone \u201cthrough gross negligence,\u201d to allow the loss, theft or removal of classified information or fails to promptly report such mishandling to his superior.<\/p>\n<p>The pressure to act against Clinton could build if the FBI determines that her official emails were hacked by a foreign power such as Russia or China.<\/p>\n<p>Even then, Clinton\u2019s lawyers might be able to ward off a prosecution by demonstrating \u201cthat she was so stupid and so busy that she didn\u2019t have any idea what was going on\u201d with regard to her emails, said Joseph DiGenova, an outspoken former Republican U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n<p>DiGenova dismissed Clinton\u2019s contention that the email was not marked as classified, emphasizing that a top agency official has a duty to recognize and protect classified information.<\/p>\n<p>MacMahon said that if a lower-level government employee \u201ccooked up their own home server\u201d and received emails containing classified information, \u201cthey would have already been arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"highline-quote-3\" class=\"highline highline-quote\">\n<blockquote><p>I DON\u2019T THINK THERE\u2019S ANY CHANCE OF THEM CHARGING HILLARY CLINTON.<br \/>\n<em><span class=\"ng_highline_attrib\">National security attorney Edward MacMahon Jr.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>But Leslie McAdoo Gordon, a Washington lawyer who has represented people charged with mishandling classified information over the last decade, said it\u2019s very difficult to prove Clinton knew certain emails were classified and intentionally sent them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very hard for the government to prove what they have to prove to get a conviction,\u201d McAdoo Gordon said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row story-rail-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wide-rail\">\n<div class=\"toplines\">\n<div class=\"ng_endnote_contact\">\n<p>http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/news\/nation-world\/national\/article41972739.html#storylink=cpy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Benghazi inquiry fades, Clinton still faces legal questions about emails<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24787\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}