“Not presidential material!” GOP frontrunner Donald Trump tweeted after the State Department said Friday that it will withhold 22 emails from Clinton’s correspondence as secretary of state because they are classified “top secret”.
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While not marked classified at the time they were sent, their classifications were upgraded following an intelligence community request, spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
The Associated Press learned seven email chains were being withheld in full from the Friday release because they contain information deemed to be “top secret”. In some cases, those e-mails were related to “special access programs”-the highest level of classification for government secrets, reserved for protected intelligence and other information kept closely protected because of its sensitivity”. Previously, the agency had disputed the intelligence community inspector general’s finding that at least two messages contain top secret information, arguing that the material may have been overclassified.
“We understand that these emails were likely originated on the State Department’s unclassified system before they were ever shared with Secretary Clinton, and they have remained on the department’s unclassified system for years”, Fallon said.
Hillary Clinton is in damage control over new information about the private email server she used as secretary of state, reports CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman.
Friday was the deadline for all of Clinton’s emails to be released, but the State Department filed a motion last week asking for more time.
However, Levin said, the bar to bringing such charges is high: Federal prosecutors would have to prove that Clinton knew she was discussing classified information, even if it wasn’t marked as classified at the time.
Sanders has dismissed the controversy over Clinton’s emails, but Republican presidential candidates have regularly attacked Clinton’s use of the unsecured email link for official business, with some contending she should be criminally charged for the possible security lapse.
Clinton continues to plea that no classified information was sent or received on her private email and voters are starting to question her honesty.
Officials in the State Department have asked for additional time to vet the messages because of the recent snowstorm that hit Washington.
Kirby said the State Department has not yet made a determination of whether the information was classified at the time it was sent or has become more sensitive due to subsequent events.
Clinton, who is in danger of losing both the early nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire to Sen.
Officials at the State Department have said that the “upgrading” of the classification of Clinton’s emails has been routine.
It is Clinton’s inept attempts to dismiss serious questions as being politically motivated, as well as her many differing defenses for doing something that was plainly wrong, that are creating serious cracks in her bid to win the Democratic nomination and succeed Barack Obama as president of the United States.
The department announced that 18 emails exchanged between Mrs. Clinton and President Obama would also be withheld, citing the longstanding practice of preserving presidential communications for future release. We feel no differently today.
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“This appears to be overclassification run amok”, Mr Fallon said. “She says problem is HRC does not know how to use a computer to do email – only bb”.
