Hillary Clinton’s terrible week

March 28, 2016

clinton blackberry

Hillary Clinton’s terrible week continued this morning as the Washington Post published a damning front page investigative report into her email scandal. The Post’s report details that Clinton and her aides focused solely on Clinton’s desire to use a nonsecure private email server under her own control, disregarding laws and regulations designed to protect classified material. It also reveals that a State Department report shows Clinton’s statement that the classified information contained in her emails was only retroactively classified was false, and that much of the information was classified at the time and remains classified today. This comes after Clinton lost 5 of the 6 primaries and caucuses held this week by alarming margins.

  • According to the Washington Post, 147 FBI agents are involved in the criminal investigation into Clinton’s server, and the investigation has been accelerated to avoid the possibility of an announcement too close to the election.
  • The Post’s investigation concluded that Clinton and her senior aides, “paid insufficient attention to laws and regulations governing the handling of classified material and the preservation of government records, interviews and documents show. They also neglected repeated warnings about the security of the BlackBerry while Clinton and her closest aides took obvious security risks in using the basement server.”
  • On multiple occasions, Clinton instructed her staff to circumvent the state department’s classified network by sending information contained there on a nonsecure system.
  • In March of 2015, Clinton denied that there was any classified material in her emails.
    • After it was discovered that 2,093 email chains contained classified information, including 104 emails authored by Clinton, her campaign explained that none of the information was classified at the time the emails were sent.
    • But a State Department report directly contradicts Clinton’s position, stating, “These emails were not retro­actively classified by the State Department. Rather these emails contained classified information when they were generated and, according to IC classification officials, that information remains classified today. This classified information should never have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system.”
  • This report comes just days after Clinton was trounced in five of the six primaries held last week.
    • Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders defeated Clinton in Idaho, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington by margins as high as 63.2%.
  • Shortly after her party’s disastrous 2014 election cycle, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi declared that with Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket, Democrats could take control of the House.
    • At the time Pelosi made this bold statement, Clinton enjoyed a favorable rating of nearly 52%. Today, her favorability stands at 40.7%.

NRCC COMMENT: With each new piece of information about Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, it becomes clearer and clearer that Clinton and her aides may have engaged in criminal wrongdoing. If Clinton or her top aides are indicted in the coming months, it will cause irreparable harm to House Democrats and their already near-impossible goal of reaching a majority.” – Bob Salera, NRCC Spokesman

Background:

How Clinton’s email scandal took root. “From the earliest days, Clinton aides and senior officials focused intently on accommodating the secretary’s desire to use her private email account, documents and interviews show. Throughout, they paid insufficient attention to laws and regulations governing the handling of classified material and the preservation of government records, interviews and documents show. They also neglected repeated warnings about the security of the BlackBerry while Clinton and her closest aides took obvious security risks in using the basement server…’What you are talking about is retroactive classification,’ she said during a recent debate. ‘And I think what we have got here is a case of overclassification.’ Her statement appears to conflict with a report to Congress last year by inspectors general from the State Department and the group of spy agencies known as the Intelligence Community. They made their report after the discovery that four emails, from a sample of 40 that went through her server, contained classified information. ‘These emails were not retro­actively classified by the State Department,’ the report said. ‘Rather these emails contained classified information when they were generated and, according to IC classification officials, that information remains classified today. This classified information should never have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system.’” (Robert O’Harrow, Jr., The Washington Post, 3/27/16)

Pelosi: With Hillary, Dems can win House. “Rep. Nancy Pelosi says Democrats can recapture control of the House in 2016 by riding Hillary Clinton’s coattails. “Yes, we can win the House,” the California Democrat said during a sit-down interview in her Capitol office. “If she runs, she will win the nomination. And if she’s our nominee, she clearly — I mean, the campaign, the joint effort — would be one that could not only take her into office but would [pull Democrats to victory],” Pelosi said.” (Mike Lillis, The Hill, 1/27/15)

Democrats hope for Hillary coattails. “Her campaign is still in its infancy. The presidential election is nearly 18 months away. But Democrats are already banking on a “Hillary effect,” an anticipated wave that will lift the party’s fortunes up and down the ticket… Clinton’s campaign, however, could be a boon in some of the biggest and bluest states — like New York and Illinois — where Clinton has roots and is likely to outperform her national numbers.” (Kyle Cheney, Theodoric Meyer, and Elena Schneider, Politico, 5/27/15)

Real Clear Politics: Clinton: Favorable/Unfavorable

Politico: 2016 Presidential Primaries Results