Clinton email scandal
The New York Times reported today that Hillary Clinton, for some reason, didn’t use her government email system the entire time that she was Secretary of State for the Obama Administration. Whether it’s true or not that she was involved in some sort malfeasance while in office, this doesn’t make her look good. I know that if I, as a government employee, turned over records of my work conversations in email on my valorguardians.com account, i would have suffered greatly in some form, but this is a Clinton we’re talking about;
“It is very difficult to conceive of a scenario — short of nuclear winter — where an agency would be justified in allowing its cabinet-level head officer to solely use a private email communications channel for the conduct of government business,” said Jason R. Baron, a lawyer at Drinker Biddle & Reath who is a former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration.
Yahoo News found an excuse for her, far short of a nuclear winter;
“Like secretaries of state before her, she used her own email account when engaging with any department officials,” Nick Merrell, Clinton’s spokesman, said in a statement Monday. “For government business, she emailed them on their department accounts, with every expectation they would be retained. When the department asked former secretaries last year for help ensuring their emails were in fact retained, we immediately said yes.”
So, see, it’s all been done before by other Secretaries of State;
Mrs. Clinton’s successor, Secretary of State John Kerry, has used a government email account since taking over the role, and his correspondence is being preserved contemporaneously as part of State Department records, according to his aides.
Before the current regulations went into effect, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who served from 2001 to 2005, used personal email to communicate with American officials and ambassadors and foreign leaders.
Last October, the State Department, as part of the effort to improve its record keeping, asked all previous secretaries of state dating back to Madeleine K. Albright to provide it with any records, like emails, from their time in office for preservation.
But the Clinton camp bristled at the notion that it broke any rules.
Yeah, well, we’re talking about a woman who “lost” for two years documents from Vince Foster’s office, following his supposed suicide. Clinton’s foreign policy adviser for her 2008 bid for president was Sandy Berger, the fellow who stole classified material from the national Archives in 2005. So, you know, these folks have a problem with transparency, documents and actual recorded history.
And this is troll bait for someone in Berkeley.
Category: Legal
Why am I not surprised about this one Lol…. Here we go again ! ! ! !
Bahahaha
I think most people use their personal email on occasion to conduct business so I have no issue with that. But when the head of a government department uses only their personal email to conduct business and not the official email provided I smell a rat. That’s nothing more than a premeditated effort to hide information. This is total bullshit.
I worked at an Embassy during her tenure at SECSTATE, my AMBO would receive emails from her office all the time (at least on classified .sgov.gov side), so I wonder who was sending those?
Also, many if not most senior government officials have an alias email that is known to close circle. While John.Kerry@state.gov no doubt exists, his persersonnal email is likely some other name entirely.
My guess is this indicates that she is really going to run at this point. This story and the Clinton Foundation foreign contributions are bad news stories that you want out now and not during the election cycle.
I disagree. I’m just a peon IT manager but I NEVER use my personal accounts for work, I also keep everything, and I always have.
The only reason higher ups in government would want to use personal email accounts is to hide their decisions from the American public.
Oh, and just because those before her also did it, doesn’t make it right. Just like your momma used to say to you, “Just because Johnny jumps off a cliff, doesn’t mean it’s OK if you do it too”.
That is not the only reason. Many officials preferred to use personal email in any communication that they could. It is common among State and USAID personnel.
A SEC STATE should be security conscious but it is unclear if she was or not.
Her, security conscious? Wasn’t she associated with the Watergate Scandal?
And wasn’t she disbarred for misconduct as well?
No.
No, not in the scandal.
She was involved in the investigation. Her boss apparently was not pleased with her performance and claims he would have fired her if he had the authority.
He refused to give her a letter of recommendation.
Actually, her former boss during the Watergate investigation (Jerry Zelfman) has claimed he did fire her – though that claim may be technically inaccurate. He also doesn’t have anything good to say about her integrity or professional ethics while she worked for him.
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/02/25/hillary-fired-lies-unethical-behavior-congressional-job-former-boss
According to Zeltman, during his career he only refused to give three people who’d worked for him a letter of recommendation. Ms. Clinton was one of those three.
I fully supported going after general Petraeus for his mistress having classified information on her computer. I’m pissed they let him off with a misdemeanor. If the smoking gun is correct that Hillary was sending “sensitive” documents that were classified to Blumenthal, someone without a government computer or active clearance, and over a civilian account, why has the justice department not launched an investigation? If I did this, I would already be hanging by my toes in supermax.
sensitive =/= classified.
Actually, sensitive is a standard military terming meaning anything that is not for general dissemination. It is also called classified. So, your little “sensitive ≠ classified” comment only shows that you know nothing about that which you are speaking.
I was an S-2 as an officer, an S-2 NCO as enlisted, and completed the counterintelligence specialist course,
and served for more than a decade working with SCI information.
“Sensitive” is not used in lieu of “classified” in handling information. Not even close. And if your people were doing it they were doing it wrong.
Troll bait: achievement unlocked
I am pretty easily trolled.
Maybe I have mild aspergers or something.
Your self disclosure of your previous access to classified info is not sound practice.
But I am just a former BT … what would I know?
Not really. I no longer hold those positions. And listing my MOSs would have essentially said the same thing just not explicitly. The fact that specific military jobs require access to classified information is public record and is even explicitly stated on service recruitment sites for each military specialty.
Since you’re such an expert, what would the definition of Sensitive be? Because my information security class made us remember a very simple phrase:
Not every sensitive document is classified, but every classified document is sensitive.
That phrase is not particularly useful other than to illustrate that “classified” should always be handled with care but just because something is not classified does not mean it should also not be handled with care.
Though the specific handling requirements and potential penalties are different.
Sensitive information does not have an all encompassing definition (but that does not prevent people from trying to give it one). It covers too broad a spectrum of information. Personal information of a soldier (SSN, medical information etc) is “sensitive” and requires care in handling but is unclassified. Operational security information is “sensitive” but often not classified. Technical information, particularly with respect to capabilities of equipment is usually sensitive. Disclosure of this information could potentially cause harm to personnel, or the US government, or national security. Classified information is information deemed by a classification authority to be information that would cause damage to national security if disclosed. The level of classification it based on the estimated level of damage disclosure would cause. The key standard in classifying information i the assessment that disclosure WOULD cause damage.
If you were an S2 type (and I’m mo doubting you were), then you also know that sensitive information is safeguarded because the aggregate of sesnsitive information can divulge classified info. I.e. The more pieces of “unclassified” but sensitive or FOUO informationi can put together, the better chance I have of acquiring classified knowledge. I’m just an infantry officer, but that was part of my read on at my last duty station. How much sensitive info could somebody pass when they are the Sec State? Don”t downplay the potential for damage, S2.
“Not doubting you were”
Typing on iPhone…
So a sensitive document may be classified, but a classified document is always sensitive, yes? That is, classified is a subset of sensitive.
Did I describe that correctly?
Lars,
I used the term sensitive because that is the term Hillary used in her hacked email displayed on the web site Smoking Gun. I have no doubt that what she was sharing with an informal advisor on a non-governmental server was classified as hell. Probably to a greater extent than just about anything I have seen. I also expect, like you, Hillary knows the strict definitions of the security classifications, and chose to use something a touch less likely to garner attention, or get her in trouble. Semantics are, after all, stock and trade for the Clintons. And they are masters of it’s use. But being a prior enlisted and Commissioned intel guy, as you were so quick to share with us, I’m sure you were aware of all that. I get the impression from looking on your posts, you came here to be argumentative in defense of the team you root for. No problem with that, just be a little more honest instead of trying to cloak your responses in the gravitas of being an intel clerk. A high GT pogue with airs is still a pogue.
Lars is right. There is classified and unclassified. Unclass info can be FOUO and it can be PII, but ‘sensitive’ is not an actual category.
That said, many people use it (incorrectly) as a blanket term. This practice is dangerous, as it leads to mishandling of classified info and unclassified information alike.
There are very specific storage and handling instructions for each level of classification as well as for FOUO and Personal information. Using the broad term ‘sensitive’ confuses the issue, so people who don’t know any better think that all ‘sensitive’ info gets treated the same way. This is when they store SECRET documents in their desk drawer (locked, of course) and FOUO in the safe.
The biggest violators are senior officers and NCOs who are used to having someone do this for them and/or working in a HQ that is one giant open storage and working area.
Transparency my ass…
Wait, are you implying that Vince Foster didn’t commit suicide?
Isn’t he the guy who mysteriously fell down an elevator shaft onto a pile of bullets? or was that from the movie “Mystery Men”? I can’t remember.
Nah, he’s the guy who shot himself, drove to Ft. Marcy Park, hid the car, then laid down and died. Everyone knows that.
his death was investigated by three different agencies, and a republican independent investigator.
All concluded it was a suicide. And you misrepresented the evidence.
He head mislead federal investigators. They knew it, he knew they knew it. He knew he was in trouble. He fell into depression, lost a crap ton of weight, was on anti-depressants, had already drafted a first draft of his resignation letter, and cried openly about how “trapped he felt.”
Depression and the sense of feeling “trapped” is a very strong precipitator of suicides.
Suicide is the overwhelmingly more likely cause under the circumstances.
Conspiracy theories to the contrary are driven by political bullshit and misleading information.
Yeah, I’ve also read the file where it openly states a man shot himself on the back of the head, at a downward angle, with a shotgun. It was strange because no gun was found at the scene.
He was shot in the neck with a small caliber pistol. The gun was found in his right hand. All three investigations concluded his body had not been moved, he was not drugged, there was no sign of a struggle.
I admit, it is odd. I would not choose that. Too uncertain an outcome.
He shot himself in the mouth, probably leading to the confusion about the bullet wound being in the back of the head… That’s where it went out.
OWO Larsie-parsie-poo, you are one VERY thoroughly brainwashed dyed-in-the-wool Kool-Aid-guzzling brainless Clintonista! Do you salute her portrait saying “SIEG HEIL THE HILDEBEAST” before going to bed every night? I’m sure you do.
I do not like that Clinton is likely to be more qualified than the dipshits that are currently floating face up in the GoP candidate pool.
I would prefer our electoral process gave us better choices.
B. Hussein 0bama was the lesser of two evils when Hitlery Clinton was the runner-up. Get used to the truth, my candyassed little rudy-poo tinsel-farting, unicorn-lusting tinsel mouse! I’m certain that you’re a college sophomore at most, AND NO, your high school JROTC and college ROTC DOES NOT COUNT as prior service, I DON’T GIVE A SHITTYASSED FLYING FUCK WHAT your self-esteem Counselor in your snotsville State College says.
I have legitimate prior service.
The “state” college thing was a good guess.
My university is indeed a state university.
You’re kidding; right? Clinton more qualified? Really? This woman has never run anything as an executive, ever. She is a liar with serious integrity problems going back through her entire life. Scott Walker has been the Chief Executive of a State and he’s really good at it. Rick Perry, also. Herman Cain, in 2012, was infinitely more qualified than Hillary, also. In 2oo8, you commies put up the least qualified person ever. Sure, he had his fancy degrees from fancy universities, but he had done absolutely nothing in his entire life that would give any sane person the thought that he could run an entire country effectively. And we were right. He’s an international joke. And now you morons are trying to convince yourselves that she is just this infinitely qualified, wonderful leader type. She’s really a power hungry hag that is more thin skinned than Obama and twice as dangerous.
Sorry, OT, but I have to disagree about Cain. Leaving aside his personal qualities, AFAIK he never held public office. I had the same objection to him as I did to Obama: he lacks any experience in the job in question.
I heard some fat dude from Arkansa, who loved Big Macs, did it!
I heard that in a bar in Crystal City!
I wonder is this is the same e-mail account that was possibly compromised by the Russian Hacker Guccifer back in 2013.
Yup. On smoking gun website. An enlisted man would be in Leavenworth getting a sex change by now.
Is that the look of a private getting caught red handed?
Excuse#1 No body told me not to do it.
Excuse#2 I was set up for failure.
Excuse#3 It wasn’t me it was you.
Excuse#4 It was the Tea Party.
And please any body feel free to ad to the excuse list.
The LT told me to do it!
Excuse #5: “What difference at this point does it make?”
Sapper3307…Excuse #6 I saw the Spec4 do it!
Excuse #7: You’re just doing this because I’m a woman!
Excuse #8: I’m having PMS.
Excuse #9: It’s what my husband did.
That needed a spew alert!!!
Anyone remember “The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy”? I’m a proud member of it, BWUUUUHhahahahahaha… 😈
It was the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
The Real Excuse # 1:
It was Bush’s fault!
We have a winner!
I really think this woman is toast. The liberal NY Times is on her ass for the BS Clinton Foundation and now the emails? You or I would be prosecuted by the Attorney General in a heartbeat for similar violations of law….and rightfully so!
The progressives are slowly moving away from Hillary looking for a “new car smell” lefty like avowed socialist Bernie Sanders wannabe Elizabeth Warren, currently representing the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts.
In my humble opinion, Hillary will not win the democrat presidential nomination in 2016.
There’s a lot of talk about drafting the phony indian Elizabeth Warren for the Dem ticket.
It is so damn cold and snowy up herein MA that Warren now claims to be an eskimo.
I’ve never liked Mrs. Clinton – I always had the impression that if I asked her what 2+2 is, she’d take a poll before giving me an answer.
And while I use my personal emails for business, I hadn’t been heading a high profile government position with data retention and IT security policies in place. I’m appalled by this and hope there’s plenty of noise made about this. Not about conspiracies about underhanded dealings because that’s just unhelpful and polarizes the discussion… but about the very real issue of transparency in records. Something presumably both sides can agree on.
Some people are inclined to give her a pass because ‘some people aren’t tech savvy’. Come on, if you’re entertaining foreign heads of state and implementing US policy, you can take a half hour crash course on using an official email account. If that’s beyond your capabilities, you aren’t suited for the position.
That said, sadly, I do still think Mrs. Clinton will be the front-runner for the Democrats in 2016.
“I’ve never liked Mrs. Clinton – I always had the impression that if I asked her what 2+2 is, she’d take a poll before giving me an answer.”
A\I’ve never liked the Hildebeast either, and I’m sure that once she gave HER answer, she’d look every math Teacher dissenting with her right in the eye screaming “WHAT DOES IT MATTER?!”. 😀
The words “Clinton” and “Scandal” fit together like biscuits and gravy.
Which is what’s for dinner tonight, what a co-inky-dinky.
Err, the biscuits and gravy part, not “Clinton” and “Scandal.”
UHMMMM,… OKAY, I’ll take your word for it. BUT… Biscuits & Gravy are like beer, they’re NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE!!!
“What difference at this point does it make??”
Actually, if State’s email is anything like AKO, I wouldn’t blame her.
Way back when our “AKO” was two Campbell’s soup cans with commo wire (not over a mile). It was good for hanging laundry, too.
😉
Thank you!
I can’t wait till the internet crashes!
I will be standing there, with my short Memorandum Pad and a grease pencil, doing business as usual.
Every military member, Federal employee, and government contractor must complete MANDATORY training every year on information assurance and one of the topics cover the use of email. Hillary had to have completed that training. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
But, that will never happen…
Don’t forget eveything that goes into her top secret clearance. It may need to be revoked.
No prosecution, however she may never get a security clearance again!
This is where the fork should be … as we say … stuck!
Unfortunately, it won’t matter about her clearance if she becomes president. Do you really think 0bama filled out an SF86 and took a poly?
Just think how many questions would would be flagged: drugs; associating with known felons, communists and terrorists; aliases/other names you have used; country of birth; use of any other passport; foreign travel; citizenship; foreign acquaintances; etc.
Plausible deniability.
Besides which, she doesn’t give a crap.
Who says that most of us use/used personal email to conduct official business? I don’t think so.
At my last government gig, all personal email accounts were blocked on .GOV computers. A virus gateway they told us.
But what do I know, I was just a peon.
The problem doesn’t appear to be whether she had her own email account or not, it is whether she used the account to conduct government business on that account.
Her spokesperson admits she used the personnel account so part one of the issue is the idea that she was relying on others to keep emails she sent. That doesn’t meet the requirements of the law. If she were a regular person, she’d be toast, but the rules don’t apply to her and her husband.
But then there is this: https://twitter.com/Aaron_RS/status/572825442476036096/photo/1
A group called “Veterans for a Strong America” made a FOIA request for Hillary emails, they included in the request the account name of any account she may have used to conduct official business.
The State Department said in filling the request that there was no personnel account.
Now there is an account that the State Department says existed and admits was used to conduct official business.
Even if one buys the bs from the State Department today, they deliberately hid the existence of the account in 2012.
“Her spokesperson admits she used the personnel account so part one of the issue is the idea that she was relying on others to keep emails she sent. That doesn’t meet the requirements of the law.”
Not it doesn’t and we also learned today that two of her high ranking aides also used a clintonemail.com address, so you can forget about that “recipient .gov address would save it” horsecrap.
This is no different than the “100% of the foreign donations submitted to the State Department were checked for ethics” statement by the spokeswoman. Then you find out that NONE of the donations were submitted. Not a lie as 100% of zero was checked…
So gitarcarver, in reference to those who claim Powell (for example) also used a personal address, the question would also be whether he used the personal address to conduct State business, yes?
P.S. Fancy meeting you here! 🙂
Breaking Crystal Ball News:
When questioned by Congress, Hillary asks, “email …smeemail, does it really matter?”
This is exactly what happens when you give people who could not pass a basic security clearance access to classified information. No one should be surprised that she would mishandle it. Again. Rules don’t apply to special people like her, doncha know. If you’ve forgotten that, just wait a bit. She will give us all another demonstration very soon. She always does.
Soooooo…
I wonder what the name on the account was, notmonica@gmail.com…..
Or maybe bluedress1993@hotmail.com ???
Nah….. the blue dress was immortalized in the official Clinton portrait, don’t ya know….
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/03/02/clinton-portrait-gallery-monica-lewinsky/24270899/
Both of those emails are gross
She learned that trick from the boys preceding Obama….
The administration officials had been using a private Internet domain, called gwb43.com, owned by and hosted on an email server run by the Republican National Committee, for various communications of unknown content or purpose. The domain name is an acronym standing for “George W. Bush, 43rd” President of the United States. The server became public when it was discovered that J. Scott Jennings, the White House’s deputy director of political affairs, was using a gwb43.com email address to discuss the firing of the U.S. attorney for Arkansas. Communications by federal employees were also found on georgewbush.com (registered to “Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc.”) and rnchq.org (registered to “Republican National Committee”[9]), but, unlike these two servers, gwb43.com has no Web server connected to it — it is used only for email.
Once again proving both sides have their sneaky lying bastards and maybe one day we can all decide to stop voting for sneaky lying bastards….ahh who am I kidding the American electorate is too fucking stupid to understand a junior senator with 4 original pieces of legislation would make a weak president, they’ll comprehend that the only way to change things is to actually vote for anyone but the incumbents….
last line should read they’ll NEVERcomprehend that the only way to change things is to actually vote for anyone but the incumbents….
I ended up us a Pentagon soldier. I knew (without being told) that conducting Pentagon business using my Earthlink account was violating rules and also, a security violation. I knew that violating this would put me at Leavenworth for the long course. So, Ms Clinton can use her own email and not violate any of this? Essentially, anything a cabinet official writes is classified. Please. She needs the same, or worse, punishment as Patreous.
Do any of you know who the (Phony) person is dressed as Airborne, on U-Tube?