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Clinton Regrets, But Defends, Use of Family Email Server

dcblogs writes: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that, in hindsight, her decision to use a private email server to conduct official business was not the best one. But she is defending it and said the system was secure. Clinton, at news conference in New York, said the email server that she used had been set up for former President Bill Clinton. The system had "numerous safeguards" and is on home property protected by the U.S. Secret Service, she said. "There were no security breaches," said Clinton. "I think the use of that server, which started with my husband, proved to be effective and secure," she said. It still remains unclear about just how appropriate Clinton's system was. As a general rule, government IT policies don't give federal employees the option of using their own email accounts to exclusively conduct government business.

4 of 609 comments (clear)

  1. Clear to me by OffTheLip · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ms. Clinton can use her private server for anything personal anytime she wants. Her government business, especially cabinet level correspondence, must originate from a state.gov address. During my work for the DoD email messages had to be digitally signed with a government issued smart card (CAC) to provide authenticity. It's a tenant of best practices. I can't imagine the State Department not adhering to the same standard of security when doing the people's business.

  2. Re:In other news by Karmashock · · Score: 5, Informative

    It specifically is illegal actually.

    And the destruction of government records is a felony.

    news at 11. ;)

    Her email records were sopeniaed by congress in the middle of that bengazi thing and they were never provided because the state department didn't have them despite by law having a right to have them.

    If government officials can use private email servers to host government emails then there is no way to know who said what to whom when. The whole point was to have the records with a trusted third party that could be audited.

    Because she self hosted her own email there is no such third party and we have to "trust" that she didn't delete government emails.

    Given that there are gaps of MONTHS in the records she provided there is no way that she didn't unless she didn't send a government email despite being the head of the state department for months.

    How fucking likely is that?

    I'm not saying she's going to jail. She's too powerful and her political allies are too powerful. That doesn't mean she isn't as of this moment almost certainly a felon.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  3. Re:As if SMTP were ever secure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    General Petraus just plead guilty to talking CLASSIFIED documents home and giving his biographer access to it.

    Note that if Hilary knowingly used even a *federal Internet server* to send *classified* emails, she'd be facing jail.

    But go ahead and try to muddy the waters, GOP astroturfer.

  4. Re:It's not a "moral dilemma" to a Clinton by adisakp · · Score: 5, Informative

    Laws are for the little people, not them.

    The Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 became law on November 26, 2014. Clinton's final day as secretary was February 1, 2013.

    The "Law" that everyone keeps claiming that she broke wasn't effective until a year and a half after she left office.

    There was absolutely no legal requirement at the time of her tenure to use a government e-mail. Furthermore, she retroactively complied with the records portion of the law by turning over any business related e-mails she had on her home server archive.

    Also, previous Secretaries of State, like Colin Powell, used personal email as well. In his case, they didn't even archive it so many of the emails are lost. We'll never have access to his electronic discusssions about, say, the decisions leading for him to give a speech at the United Nations calling for the Invasion of Iraq.