Cameron Miranda
Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account and server during her time as secretary of state raised questions about whether she had broken the law. Clinton maintained that her actions were within federal law and State Department rules, and experts agreed that she was not prohibited from using her personal email. While her conduct was questionable, particularly regarding potential counterintelligence risks, there was no evidence that Clinton willfully communicated classified information to unauthorised individuals. Ultimately, the Justice Department declined to prosecute, and the case did not disqualify her from the presidency.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Emails were not marked as classified at the time | 22 emails were later reclassified as 'top secret' |
| No intent to retain | Clinton was exchanging emails with her staff |
| No intent to retain | Clinton's decision to use a personal email address was for 'convenience' |
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What You'll Learn
Hillary Clinton's use of personal email during her time as secretary of state
Clinton explained her decision to bypass a state email address for her own account (and personal server) came from a desire for "convenience", and maintained her choice fell well within the boundaries of federal law and State Department rules. Archive director at the National Security Archive, Tom Blanton, said: "Technically, is she correct when she says I’m allowed? Yes, she wasn’t prohibited from doing it”.
Clinton's office said nothing was illegal or improper about her use of the non-government account and that she believed her business emails to State Department and other .gov accounts would be archived in accordance with government rules. “Like secretaries of state before her, she used her own email account when engaging with any department officials,” Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said. “For government business, she emailed them on their department accounts, with every expectation they would be retained.”
The FBI found evidence that laws were broken when secrets got onto Clinton's personal server, but the case wasn't strong enough to prosecute. The FBI referred the case to the Department of Justice for a prosecutive decision.
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Whether Clinton knew she was putting classified information into an unclassified system
The laws governing the misuse of classified information require that the offender knew the material was classified and either delivered it to someone who wasn't authorised to receive it or removed it from government custody "with the intent to retain" it. Therefore, the first test is whether Clinton knew she was putting classified information into an unclassified system. Clinton and her aides have insisted that she didn't. They say none of her emails included material that was marked as classified at the time. Some of her emails were later reclassified, including 22 that have been designated "top secret", but they weren't classified when she sent or received them.
Clinton explained her decision to bypass a state email address for her own account (and personal server) came from a desire for "convenience" and maintained her choice fell well within the boundaries of federal law and State Department rules. Tom Blanton, archive director at the National Security Archive, agreed with this assessment, noting that "technically, is she correct when she says I’m allowed? Yes, she wasn’t prohibited from doing it".
However, the FBI found evidence that laws were broken when secrets got onto Clinton's personal server, but the case wasn't strong enough for prosecution. A former top government lawyer commented that "if all she was doing was exchanging emails with her staff, I don’t think they can prove that she had the intent to retain anything".
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Whether Clinton had the intent to retain anything
It is unlikely that Clinton had the intent to retain anything. A former top government lawyer said, "If all she was doing was exchanging emails with her staff, I don't think they can prove that she had the intent to retain anything". Clinton and her aides have insisted that she did not know she was putting classified information into an unclassified system. They say none of her emails included material that was marked as classified at the time. Some of her emails were later reclassified, including 22 that have been designated "top secret", but they weren't classified when she sent or received them.
Clinton explained her decision to bypass a state email address for her own account (and personal server) came from a desire for "convenience" and maintained her choice fell well within the boundaries of federal law and State Department rules. Tom Blanton, archive director at the National Security Archive, agreed with this, saying, "Technically, is she correct when she says I'm allowed? Yes, she wasn't prohibited from doing it".
However, the FBI did find evidence that laws were broken when secrets got onto Clinton's personal server, but the case wasn't strong enough.
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The FBI's decision not to charge Clinton
The FBI found evidence that laws were broken when secrets were found on Hillary Clinton's personal server. However, the case was not strong enough to prosecute. The FBI won't make the decision whether to prosecute Clinton; that will be up to the Justice Department, after the FBI delivers its report.
Clinton and her aides have insisted that she did not know she was putting classified information into an unclassified system. They say none of her emails included material that was marked as classified at the time. Some of her emails were later reclassified, including 22 that have been designated "top secret", but they weren't classified when she sent or received them.
Clinton has explained her decision to bypass a state email address for her own account (and personal server) came from a desire for "convenience", and maintained her choice fell well within the boundaries of federal law and State Department rules. Archive director at the National Security Archive, Tom Blanton, has supported this, saying: "Technically, is she correct when she says I’m allowed? Yes, she wasn’t prohibited from doing it".
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The Justice Department's decision to prosecute
Clinton has explained her decision to bypass a state email address for her own account (and personal server) came from a desire for "convenience", and maintained her choice fell well within the boundaries of federal law and State Department rules. Archive director at the National Security Archive, Tom Blanton, has agreed with this, saying: "Technically, is she correct when she says I’m allowed? Yes, she wasn’t prohibited from doing it".
However, the FBI did find evidence that laws were broken when secrets got onto Clinton's personal server, but the case wasn't strong enough. A former top government lawyer has said: "If all she was doing was exchanging emails with her staff, I don’t think they can prove that she had the intent to retain anything".
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Frequently asked questions
No, Clinton and her aides have insisted that she did not know she was putting classified information into an unclassified system. They say none of her emails included material that was marked as classified at the time.
While the FBI found evidence that laws were broken when secrets got onto Clinton's personal server, the case wasn't strong enough to prosecute.
The laws governing the misuse of classified information require that the offender knew the material was classified and either delivered it to someone who wasn't authorised to receive it or removed it from government custody "with the intent to retain" it.
