[quote=harvey][quote=SK in CV]I agree with most everything you said until the end. What evidence is there that anything leaked out? [/quote]
My understanding is that there are specific networks and computers that are allowed to have classified information. Somehow, some number of classified emails got off these networks an onto a personal system that was connected to the public internet. That’s what I mean by “leaked” – leaked from a secure system to an insecure one.
I don’t believe any of the information ultimately made it into the hands of our adversaries, although once it was on an insecure system it’s hard to know where it went. But as best I know there is no evidence that national security was impacted by any of it.
My whole take on the “email scandal” is that there were some less-than-ideal IT security practices in the State Department, but that such practices are probably more common throughout the federal government than many people would like to acknowledge. I believe Hillary knew about these issues but choose not to address them due to other priorities. I understand that “other people do it too” is ultimately not a valid justification, but I’m not feeling any outrage about the email issues because I don’t see any evidence of specific intent to leak the information.
It was incompetence, not malice – and minor incompetence relative to the scope of all of the Secretary of State’s responsibilities.[/quote]
I’d go along with most of that. The classified info that ended up on the Clinton server was almost all classified after the fact, which is pretty common in government work. It was not classified when it was produced (by the state department), but subsequently upclassified by the state department (sometimes as a result of FOIA request), the FBI or DNI. According to Comey’s testimony to Congress, there were only 3 items that were marked classified, and all 3 of them were improperly marked, meaning someone who knew the rules of classification inside and out, would not consider them classified. That is close to a direct quote from Comey in his testimony. An expert would not have considered them classified.
Her predecessors handled their emails substantially less carefully, including classified email, (as described by Secretary Powell in his email to Secretary Clinton) using public email accounts, and providing not a single one upon their leaving the department.
