Hillary Clinton: Lawbreaker Or Smear Campaign?

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State sparked controversy and led to an FBI investigation. The investigation concluded that Clinton's server did not contain any clearly marked classified information. However, federal agencies retroactively determined that some of the emails contained information that should have been deemed classified.

Some experts and officials argued that Clinton's use of a private email system violated federal law, specifically 18 U.S. Code § 1924, which pertains to the unauthorised removal and retention of classified documents. Clinton maintained that her use of a private server was permitted by State Department IT procedures and that the information in question was not classified at the time.

The FBI investigation found Clinton to be extremely careless but recommended against prosecution, as there was no evidence of criminal intent. The controversy surrounding Clinton's emails received significant media coverage during the 2016 presidential election, in which she was the Democratic nominee, and some observers believe it contributed to her loss.

Did Hillary Clinton break federal law?

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official and personal business while serving as Secretary of State under the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013 has been the subject of intense scrutiny and investigation.

Clinton's use of a private server came to light during an investigation into her conduct and knowledge of the 2012 Benghazi attack by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Counterintelligence Division also launched an active investigation into her allegedly unlawful use of a private server.

The central probe into Clinton's conduct surrounded her handling of classified information. While serving as Secretary of State, Clinton sent and received classified information via email on a private, non-governmental server. Strict laws govern the accessing and storage of classified government information.

FBI Director James Comey stated that Clinton and her aides may have violated the law, but their actions did not warrant criminal charges. Comey found "evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information," but concluded that "no charges are appropriate in this case." He noted that law enforcement officials weigh various factors before bringing charges and consider the context of a person's actions and how similar situations have been handled in the past.

Comey's decision not to recommend charges was criticised by both Republicans and Clinton surrogates. Republicans, including then-GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, took issue with the decision not to prosecute. Meanwhile, Clinton surrogates criticised Comey for choosing to publicly discuss the matter.

While no charges were filed, the controversy surrounding Clinton's use of a private email server was the single-most-covered topic during her 2016 presidential campaign.

Did she violate State Department protocols and procedures?

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server and private email system while serving as Secretary of State has been the subject of much controversy and legal scrutiny. The investigation into Clinton's use of private email began with the 2012 Benghazi scandal and her knowledge of the Libyan embassy attack.

Clinton's use of a private email server for official and personal business while at the Department of State has been deemed a violation of State Department protocols and procedures. In May 2016, the State Department's inspector general, Steve A. Linick, released an 83-page report detailing Clinton's non-compliance with Department policies. The report stated that Clinton did not seek approval from State Department staff for her use of a private email server, and if she had, her setup would have been declined due to "security risks". The report also noted that Clinton's actions violated the Federal Records Act and that she did not comply with the Department's record-keeping practices.

Clinton's defense has been that her use of a private email system complied with federal laws and State Department regulations, and that other former secretaries of state had also maintained personal email accounts. She has also claimed that the emails she sent and received did not contain any classification markings, and she was unaware of their classification at the time. However, defense attorney Edward MacMahon Jr. has disputed this, stating that the lack of markings or knowledge of classification would not be a relevant defense in a prosecution under the Espionage Act.

In addition to the investigation by the State Department's inspector general, Clinton also faced an active investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence Division into her allegedly unlawful use of a private server. The central probe into her conduct surrounds her handling of classified information, and whether she violated 18 U.S.C. § 1924, which pertains to the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials.

While the investigations are ongoing, the potential legal and political ramifications for Clinton are significant, especially given her former position as Secretary of State and her candidacy for president.

Did she violate regulations governing recordkeeping?

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official and personal business while serving as Secretary of State raised questions about whether she violated regulations governing recordkeeping.

Clinton exclusively used a private email server for official correspondence during her tenure as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. She did not use or activate a state.gov email account, which would have been hosted on government-managed servers. This decision led to an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence Division into her potentially unlawful use of a private server.

Clinton's primary defense was that she was unaware of the classification of the emails at the time they were sent or received. She maintained that she did not send or receive any emails that were confidential at the time. However, critics argued that her use of a private messaging system and server violated State Department protocols and federal laws and regulations governing recordkeeping.

The controversy centred around two key legal questions:

• Whether Clinton violated any laws regarding the handling of classified material.
• Whether she violated the Federal Records Act.

While Clinton was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in handling classified information, new questions arose regarding her compliance with the Federal Records Act. This Act requires federal officials to preserve their work records and hand them over to the National Archives upon leaving government service.

Clinton's exclusive use of a private email server raised concerns about whether she had properly retained and submitted her records for archiving. During an FBI interview, Clinton stated that she had expected her work records to be retained when she emailed other officials on their government accounts. She also asserted that she had received no instructions on preserving or producing records when transitioning out of her role as Secretary of State.

The State Department's Inspector General later stated that Clinton's approach was not an appropriate way to preserve government records. They recommended that she should have printed and filed work emails from her private server.

While violations of the Federal Records Act are typically misdemeanors rather than felonies, the controversy surrounding Clinton's email practices fuelled intense scrutiny during her 2016 presidential campaign.

Did she mishandle classified information?

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State sparked controversy and an FBI investigation. While the FBI investigation found that Clinton's server did not contain any emails that were clearly marked as classified, federal agencies did determine that some of the emails contained information that should have been deemed classified at the time they were sent.

The FBI investigation revealed that 100 emails contained information that should have been classified, including 65 deemed "Secret" and 22 deemed "Top Secret". A further 2,093 emails were retroactively designated as confidential by the State Department.

Clinton's primary defense was that she was unaware of the classification of the emails at the time they were sent or received. She claimed that she had complied with federal laws and State Department regulations, and that former secretaries of state had also maintained personal email accounts.

The FBI investigation concluded that Clinton had been extremely careless but recommended that no charges be filed, as there was no evidence that Clinton had acted with criminal intent. However, the investigation did find evidence of potential violations of statutes regarding the handling of classified information.

In summary, while Clinton did mishandle classified information, the FBI determined that her actions did not warrant criminal prosecution.

Did she obstruct justice?

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official and personal business while at the Department of State has been the subject of intense scrutiny. This came to light during an investigation into her conduct and knowledge of the 2012 Benghazi attack.

Clinton's handling of classified information was the central probe into her conduct. She sent and received classified information via email on a private, non-governmental server while serving as Secretary of State. Strict laws govern the accessing and storage of classified government information.

Clinton maintained that she was unaware of the classification of the emails at the time they were sent or received. However, the State Department's review of 30,000 Clinton emails indicated that at least 671 emails sent or received by Clinton contained classified information. This directly contradicted her statement to reporters in July 2015, where she said, "I am confident that I have never sent nor received any information that was classified at the time it was sent and received."

The FBI investigated whether Clinton had committed 'gross negligence' under the Espionage Act for failure to keep national defense information safe. FBI Director James Comey stated that Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of classified government material, but that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring criminal charges in this case. He added that there was no evidence that Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information.

Clinton's potential legal liability for her actions appeared minimal, but the possible political ramifications were significant, especially given the proximity to the Iowa Caucuses and her 2016 presidential campaign. Ultimately, the FBI recommended that the Justice Department decline to prosecute, and the probe into Clinton's use of private email servers was closed without criminal charges.

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