COMMENT: In my 22yrs in the U.S. Navy I had training and dealt with classified material up to, and including, Top Secret. What is missing in all discussions on security classifications it WHO classifies a specific communication or document. The originator of any communication or document is responsible for classifying it according to the rules, and those rules are many and obscure, and change (what is not-classified today may be Top Secret 2 days later).
In the case of emails, the original author is the responsible person. So if Hillery Clinton received email that WAS NOT marked classified, she or her staff would likely NOT know. Also, she or her staff, could originate an email with classified material because they were unaware that it should be classified, given the complexity and obscurity of the rules.
Excerpt
SUMMARY: In investigating Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, the FBI found no wanton wrongdoing to make criminal charges stick. FBI director James Comey made that announcement today, chastising the Democratic presidential candidate and former top diplomat. Judy Woodruff reports.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): For Hillary Clinton today, a recommendation and a rebuke from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It came after a year-long investigation into her use of a private e-mail server when she was the nation's top diplomat.
JAMES COMEY, Director, FBI: No charges are appropriate in this case.
JUDY WOODRUFF: With those seven words, FBI Director James Comey all but lifted the legal threat to the Democrats' presidential nominee-to-be. He said, in essence, investigators found no wanton wrongdoing to make criminal charges stick.
JAMES COMEY: Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But Comey also spoke in blistering terms about Clinton's use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.
JAMES COMEY: Although we didn't 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Clinton has acknowledged it was a mistake to use a private e-mail system, but she's asserted that classified material was never handled improperly.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), Former Secretary of State: I didn't e-mail any classified material to anyone on my e-mail. There is no classified material.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, however, the FBI found that 110 e-mails contained information that was classified when it was sent or received. And the FBI also found it is — quote — “possible” that hostile actors got access to the secretary's account.
JAMES COMEY: Any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton's position, or in the position of those with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.
"No charges, but will Clinton face political consequences for email scandal?" PBS NewsHour 7/5/2016
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Despite the finding by investigators that Hillary Clinton's emails were handled in an extremely careless way, FBI director James Comey said they wouldn't recommend a criminal prosecution. Judy Woodruff talks with Carrie Johnson of NPR; then gets reaction on the political fallout from Sean Spicer, chief strategist of the Republican National Committee; and Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.
"2 takes on the law used to judge Clinton’s email use" PBS NewsHour 7/6/2016
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Both FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta said they would not recommend or pursue charges against Hillary Clinton for her email practices as secretary of state. To examine the law they used to make that decision, Judy Woodruff talks to Shannen Coffin, former counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney; and Stephen Vladeck of the University of Texas School of Law.
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