Origin of key Clinton emails from report are a mystery
We’re gonna be talking about everything. “I’ve said it was a mistake”, Clinton added.
The report has given Clinton critics new ammunition to question her judgment and veracity.
On Wednesday, State Department officials said they had no idea why the records Clinton provided did not contain that particular email chain.
“I have provided all of my work-related emails, and I’ve asked that they be made public, and I think that demonstrates that I wanted to make sure that this information was part of the official records”, Clinton said, according to an interview transcript provided by ABC News. As a result, Lukens recalled “on occasion” seeing Clinton looking at her Blackberry in the hallway outside the secure area. The report says Clinton was sent a memo in 2011 warning of hackers trying to access private email accounts, and that she was given a personal briefing on the issue.
The report cites “longstanding, systemic weaknesses” related to communications that precede Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state.
The issue has dogged Clinton for more than a year, and has been used by her political enemies, including her presumed Republican opponent in the White House race, Donald Trump, to question her trustworthiness and honesty - character traits that many voters already had expressed doubts about in opinion polls.
Hillary Clinton struggled on Thursday to explain a mysterious email exchange - which was revealed in a damning State Department inspector general - that she appears to have never provided to the agency. If taking these measures involved skirting, or even flouting, some government guidelines, the new Secretary of State and her senior staffers were evidently willing to do that.
The report by the inspector general’s office concludes that Clinton handled email in a way that was “not an appropriate method” for preserving public records and that her practices failed to comply with department policy.
“It is disturbing that the State Department knew it had emails like this and turned them over to the inspector general, but not to Congress”, said Iowa Sen.
What does it say about Hillary Clinton that she was so determined to shield herself from public disclosure laws that she was willing to break every rule in the book, and then with a straight face tell the public that she did nothing wrong?
In his testimony, Lukens said he wasn’t aware Clinton was using personal email for work purposes.
“We have inspectors general, nonpartisan, they rely on going under the hood, [being] able to interview past secretaries of state”, the Utah Republican told Fox News. John Kerry, the current officeholder, and predecessors Madeline Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice all agreed to speak to the inspector general’s investigators. She said this was a personal choice made for convenience, likening it to the decisions by previous secretaries. “She needs to come clean” - and could have done so during the inquiry.
Clinton on Thursday also reacted to a possible debate between Trump and her lingering Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, which the candidates are now entertaining.
The unique arrangement meant her messages were improperly shielded from open records requests for almost six years.
A federal indictment would cause serious damage to her campaign.
Protesters backing Mr Sanders greeted Ms Clinton at a rally in Salinas, California, on Wednesday with signs reading “Hillary 4 Jail”. “But it was still a mistake”, she said. NBC’s Chuck Todd opined that the only reason there isn’t more “hand-wringing” and “panic” among Democrats over this scandal is Donald Trump’s candidacy.