Hillary Clinton, as I have written before, is not an unintelligent person. She is quite smart. She is not an airhead. I reported about my meeting with her 9 years ago when I, accompanied by two other experts and her close friend, Sid Blumenthal, briefed her on the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
So let me point out some very interesting implications from Jim Comey’s comments on Hillary’s use of classified information in her private email server.
Let’s start with Comey’s confirmation that this investigation started because of the Intelligence Community, not partisans bent on taking out Hillary:
The investigation began as a referral from the Intelligence Community Inspector General in connection with Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail server during her time as Secretary of State. The referral focused on whether classified information was transmitted on that personal system.
That referral came from Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III, who informed the Department of Justice that as a result of a comprehensive review by intelligence agencies of Hillary’s email they had identified “several dozen” additional classified emails — including specific intelligence known as “special access programs” (SAP)–on her server. McCullough wrote:
“To date, I have received two sworn declarations from one [intelligence community] element. These declarations cover several dozen emails containing classified information determined by the IC element to be at the confidential, secret, and top secret/sap levels,” said the IG letter to lawmakers with oversight of the intelligence community and State Department. “According to the declarant, these documents contain information derived from classified IC element sources.”
On this point, Comey was very precise in noting Hillary’s previous lies–i.e., “I did not send or receive classified information.” Nope. The FBI found otherwise, said Comey:
From the group of 30,000 e-mails returned to the State Department, 110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received. Eight of those chains contained information that was Top Secret at the time they were sent; 36 chains contained Secret information at the time; and eight contained Confidential information, which is the lowest level of classification. . . .
Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.
For example, seven e-mail chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received. These chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending e-mails about those matters and receiving e-mails from others about the same matters. There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position, or in the position of those government employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.
Let me sketch for you one possible scenario that directly implicates Hillary for being reckless. Information that is classified as Top Secret/Special Access Program is not your run of the mill information. There are only a couple of ways Hillary could get such information–she read it off of a classified computer or someone told her about it.
The computer route means that the messages/content is contained on a computer that handles only Top Secret material and then is only available to those with a computer profile that allows them to have access. My understanding is that Hillary did not have that kind of computer sitting on her desk.
Then there is the personal briefer. Hillary, like the President and the Secretary of Defense, received personal briefings from senior intelligence community every morning (more accurate to say that these briefers were available if Hillary was interested). Those briefers would show up with documents locked in a secure pouch. Hillary’s staff of sycophants normally would not be briefed on those documents or given a chance to read them. That means Hillary got very sensitive info and then put that material into a message to her staff. It would be natural for her to flag an issue or ask them to follow up.
I concede she was not intentionally trying to share classified information with our enemies. But what leaves me slack jawed is that it was such a careless, reckless act on her part. Comey made it quite clear that Hillary both sent and received such information. That means only one thing–she consciously put TS/SAP material into an unclass email and sent it around.
Why would she do this? Is she stupid and unfamiliar with the rules? No. For her it is just a simple matter of the “means justifies the end.” The “end” in this case is her desire to become the first female President and, to achieve that end, will use any information and leverage available to her. This kind of judgment on her part (or more accurately, lack of judgment) is alarming and should be disqualifying.
I am sick of the partisan hypocrisy. I thought it was outrageous when Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby and Richard Armitage exposed my friend and former CIA colleague, Valerie Plame, as a CIA officer. She was an active duty Non-Official Cover Officer when that news was made. Back then the left and the liberals were outraged and many conservatives made excuses and insisted no harm was done.
Today the shoe is on the other foot. Now it is the liberals and the left insisting this was no big deal. And it is the Republican side of the house justifiably outraged.
Let me reiterate my position–it was wrong what was done to Valerie and Hillary Clinton is wrong in what she has done. I do think there are some Americans, like me, who do not worry first about the partisan affiliation of the victim or the wrongdoer.
On this matter the facts are very simple, very black and white–Hillary Clinton violated the law and is getting a pass because of who she is. The system is rigged.
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