Comey’s questioning and the State Department’s decision to reopen the probe means Clinton is unlikely to shake off doubts of her trustworthiness and ability to handle classified information during the months leading up to November’s general election.
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The State Department has no authority to discipline former employees, but it could add information about any security violations to the person’s file, State Department spokesman John Kirby told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
Kirby set no deadline for the investigation’s completion.
Hillary Clinton may have “got off easy” according to several legal and security experts following FBI’s recommendation that no “reasonable prosecutor” would bring criminal charges against her, but it appears investigations surrounding her private email server are not done and dusted yet.
State Department headquarters in D.C., left, and, right, Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to the reporters at United Nations headquarters on Tuesday, March 10, 2015.
Of some 30,000 emails Clinton turned over to the FBI, Comey said 110 contained classified information – Clinton had said none was classified at the time they were sent. Did you look at the Clinton foundation? For instance, their positions in any Clinton administration’s national security team could be jeopardized if they lose their security clearances.
While the most serious outcome – loss of security clearance – seems impossible (bordering on absurd) to enforce on Mrs Clinton were she to be elected president, it could prevent her from placing any affected staff into high levels of her administration.
The State Department has since announced that they will resume the probe into Clinton’s email usage following backlash from Republicans.
Beyond the Democratic front-runner, the probe is will most likely examine confidants Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan and Huma Abedin – who wrote numerous emails to their boss that the various investigations have focused on.
“I see evidence of great carelessness”.
The review is a resumption of a review the State Department announced in January, as it was still engaged in sorting through batches of 30,000 emails that had gone through a private server for Clinton’s use, even though the emails were related to government business.
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So, it appears the State Department will, eventually, have some “consequences” to show Chaffetz. But the State Department’s announcement serves as a reminder that the email issue will continue to dog Clinton’s campaign.
