Emails between employees working for the Denver-based company that maintained Hillary Clinton’s private email server in 2013 after she left office as secretary of state expressed fear of a cover-up, a letter from Sen.
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The email came to light at the same time as the revelation that a second data firm, Datto Inc., may have a private cloud back-up of all of Clinton’s emails. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican whose Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee is investigating Clinton’s email arrangement, says the attempts were apparently blocked by a “threat monitoring” product that Clinton’s employees connected to her network in October 2013.
Johnson’s letter also provides evidence that Datto may have copies of Clinton emails, raising hopes that the records could be compared to the 55,000 pages of documents Clinton turned over in December.
But the newly discovered attack didn’t just target Clinton’s email address – it was directed at her server. It was probably protected to a few degree, because even the most basic commercial online backup systems recognize the danger of hackers intercepting their transmissions, but clearly Datto believes security upgrades were available.
One e-mail suggests Clinton’s team told the company to cut back-ups to 30-days.
But Datto’s general counsel Michael Fass said in a statement Wednesday: “Datto has no role in monitoring the content or source of data stored by Managed Service Providers clients such as Platte River”.
Fass said Datto had received consent to turn over data from the Clintons and from Platte River.
In this September 22, 2015 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks in Des Moines, Iowa.
The theory was debunked when the agency recently obtained an email exchange during that period – and, in part, on Clinton’s private account – between her and Gen. David Petraeus. Mrs. Clinton had previously said she used a personal email account – the same one she kept as a senator – to do government business during the first couple of months she was at the State Department. This hardware had allowed the company to store data on its cloud. Datto believes it is possible; Platte River has said it is unlikely. Clinton has said none of the emails were marked classified during her tenure.
Clinton campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon rejected Johnson’s inquiry, calling the committee’s probe a “taxpayer-funded sham of an investigation with the sole goal of attacking Hillary Clinton politically”, according to the AP.
Platte River’s Boian told the Washington Post that despite the employee’s private speculation, the company does not think any “shaddy shit” – or rather a cover-up – took place.
Clinton’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions about Johnon’s letter or the State Department’s new request.
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State Department spokesman John Kirby referred questions about the computer servers to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “We have also informed Congress of this matter”.
