Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct public business while serving as secretary of state, followed by the deletion of information on that server and the transfer to her lawyer of a thumb drive containing heretofore unexplored data, engages several issues of criminal law—but the overriding issue is one of plain common sense.
Let’s consider the potentially applicable criminal laws in order of severity.
It is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than a year to keep “documents or materials containing classified information . . . at an unauthorized location.” Note that it is the information that is protected; the issue doesn’t turn on whether the document or materials bear a classified marking. This is the statute under which David Petraeus—former Army general and Central Intelligence Agency director—was prosecuted for keeping classified information at home. Mrs. Clinton’s holding of classified information on a personal server was a violation of that law. So is transferring that information on a thumb drive to David Kendall, her lawyer.
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She better start buying some orange pants suites.
ReplyDeleteHillary -- don't let the cell door hit you on your entrance.
ReplyDelete"David Petraeus—former Army general and Central Intelligence Agency director—was prosecuted for keeping classified information at home."
ReplyDeleteSo is she.
"Mrs. Clinton’s holding of classified information on a personal server (AT HER HOME)was a violation of that law."