The Clinton's Legal Troubles: Breaking The Law

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official and personal business while at the Department of State has sparked controversy and raised legal questions. Clinton's use of a private server came to light during an investigation into her knowledge of the Libyan embassy attack by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Benghazi. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence Division launched an inquiry into whether Clinton unlawfully used a private server to send and receive classified information. While Clinton has maintained that she was unaware of the classification of the emails at the time, the State Department's review of 30,000 Clinton emails indicated that at least 671 contained classified information.

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while at the Department of State

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 has been the subject of much scrutiny and investigation. Clinton's use of a private server for official communications instead of an official State Department email account raised concerns about compliance with federal laws and State Department regulations.

The controversy centres on whether Clinton's actions constituted a violation of laws pertaining to the handling and storage of classified information. While serving as Secretary of State, Clinton used a private email server located in her home in Chappaqua, New York, to send and receive emails, including those containing sensitive and classified information. This setup was not approved by the State Department and posed potential security risks.

Investigations by the FBI and the State Department's Inspector General found that Clinton's use of a private server did not adhere to department guidelines and posed cybersecurity risks. The FBI investigation, led by FBI Director James Comey, concluded that while there was no evidence of intentional misconduct or criminal intent, Clinton and her team were “extremely careless” in their handling of sensitive and classified information.

The State Department's Inspector General report also revealed that Clinton did not seek approval for her private email setup and that staff who raised concerns about her email practices were silenced. The report further noted that Clinton's actions disregarded various State Department guidelines aimed at mitigating cybersecurity risks.

Despite these findings, the FBI decided not to pursue criminal charges against Clinton, citing a lack of clear evidence of intentional mishandling of classified information and the absence of criminal intent. The decision was met with criticism from both Republican and Democratic parties, with some arguing that Clinton received preferential treatment due to her political stature.

The controversy surrounding Clinton's email server had a significant impact on her 2016 presidential campaign, providing ammunition for her opponents and contributing to negative media coverage. The ongoing investigations and revelations about the private server became a prominent issue in the election, with some arguing that it was a factor in Clinton's loss to Donald Trump.

Clinton's handling of classified information

Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information has been the subject of much scrutiny and several investigations.

During her tenure as Secretary of State, Clinton used a private email server for official communications instead of a state-issued email account. This server was located in the Clintons' home in Chappaqua, New York, from January 2009 until 2013, when it was moved to a data centre in New Jersey.

Clinton's use of a private server was revealed in March 2015 by the Benghazi panel, which was investigating the 2012 attacks. The panel discovered that Clinton had exclusively used her own private email server throughout her time as Secretary of State, and that her aides had taken no action to preserve emails sent or received from her personal accounts, as required by law.

An FBI investigation into Clinton's handling of classified information found that she had sent and received classified information via email on a private, non-governmental server while serving as Secretary of State. The investigation concluded that Clinton had been "extremely careless" in her handling of sensitive, highly classified information, but recommended that no charges be filed because Clinton did not act with criminal intent.

However, it was determined that Clinton's server did contain emails that should have been deemed classified at the time they were sent. Specifically, federal agencies found that 100 emails contained information that should have been classified, including 65 deemed "Secret" and 22 deemed "Top Secret". An additional 2,093 emails were retroactively designated confidential by the State Department.

Clinton has maintained that she did not knowingly send or receive classified information and that her use of a private server complied with federal laws and State Department regulations. She has argued that the information in question was not marked as classified at the time and that she was unaware of their classification when the emails were sent or received.

While Clinton was not charged with any crimes related to her handling of classified information, the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server was a major issue during the 2016 presidential election, in which she was the Democratic nominee.

Clinton's lies about her awareness of the emails

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official public communications while she was Secretary of State led to an FBI investigation. The investigation found that Clinton had been extremely careless in her handling of sensitive information, but recommended that no charges be filed because there was no evidence of criminal intent.

Clinton's lawyers had deleted around 32,000 emails deemed to be of a personal nature. However, it was later discovered that some of these emails contained information that should have been deemed classified at the time they were sent. Clinton claimed that she was unaware of their classification and that her use of a private server complied with federal laws and State Department regulations.

The investigation concluded that Clinton and her team were extremely careless in their handling of sensitive, highly classified information. They found evidence that Clinton had sent and received classified information on her private email server, which was not authorised to store such information. This was a violation of strict laws governing the accessing and storage of classified government information.

In summary, while Clinton's lies about her awareness of the emails may have warranted additional criminal charges, the FBI ultimately decided not to pursue charges due to a lack of evidence of criminal intent and the context of her actions.

Whether Clinton committed 'gross negligence' under the Espionage Act

Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for official and personal business while at the Department of State has been a subject of controversy and investigation. The issue centres around whether Clinton committed gross negligence under the Espionage Act by mishandling classified information.

The FBI, led by Director James Comey, conducted a year-long investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server. They found "evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information". However, Comey stated that their actions did not warrant criminal charges and that "no charges are appropriate in this case".

Comey's decision was based on the absence of evidence of criminal intent, which is required to prosecute under the Espionage Act. While the Act mentions "gross negligence", Comey interpreted this in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Gorin v. United States (1941), which essentially rewrote the statute to require intent. Comey stated that Clinton's actions did not show clear criminal intent, and that similar cases had not resulted in prosecution.

Legal experts agreed with Comey's conclusion, noting that there was no recent precedent for bringing a case under the Espionage Act without evidence of willful intent or gross negligence. Laurie Levenson, a professor of law, stated that "extreme carelessness doesn't necessarily translate into gross negligence". Additionally, unlike other cases prosecuted under the Espionage Act, the FBI found no evidence that Clinton intentionally shared government secrets with unauthorised individuals.

In conclusion, while Clinton's use of a private email server may have been "extremely careless", it did not rise to the level of gross negligence under the Espionage Act, as interpreted by the FBI and legal experts. The decision not to prosecute Clinton was based on the absence of evidence of criminal intent and the high bar set by previous cases.

Clinton's use of personal email during her time as secretary of state

During her time as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton used a private email server for official public communications instead of using an official State Department email account. This decision was controversial, as it meant that Clinton's communications were not subject to the same level of security and record-keeping procedures as they would have been if she had used a government-issued email account.

The controversy around Clinton's use of a private email server centres on the potential mishandling of classified information. While serving as Secretary of State, Clinton sent and received emails containing sensitive information, including details about CIA drone programs and discussions of foreign policy matters. Some of these emails were later deemed to contain classified information, raising concerns that Clinton may have violated laws governing the handling of classified information.

The FBI conducted an investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server and, while they found evidence of potential violations, they ultimately decided not to pursue criminal charges. They concluded that Clinton and her aides had been ''extremely careless'' in their handling of sensitive information but that their actions did not warrant prosecution. This decision was based on the lack of criminal intent and the fact that similar situations had been handled in the same manner in the past.

The controversy around Clinton's use of a private email server had a significant impact on her political career, particularly during the 2016 presidential election. It sparked intense public interest and debate, with some arguing that it was an example of ethical shortcuts taken by the Clinton family, while others dismissed it as a non-issue that had been blown out of proportion by her attackers.

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