Hillary Clinton stored 'Top Secret' government information on her private server, probe reveals

(NaturalNews) The Justice Department's existing criminal probe into Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server while serving as Secretary of State has just widened following the discovery of "Top Secret" correspondence she previously claimed did not exist.

As reported by McClatchy Papers, pressure had been building on Clinton to explain her installation of a personal email server in her Chappaqua, New York, home for official use – a "clear-cut" violation of State Department rules – but Tuesday's discovery of two emails on her private account labeled "Top Secret" has created new complications for her.

In addition to violation of State Department policies, the sending and receiving of classified intelligence information "in the clear" – that is, in a manner that could potentially expose it to unauthorized third parties – is also a violation of federal law governing the transmission and/or possession of classified data.

McClatchy Papers reported further:

The inspector general for the Intelligence Community notified senior members of Congress that two of four classified emails discovered on the server Clinton maintained at her New York home contained material deemed to be in one of the highest security classifications - more sensitive than previously known.

The notice came as the State Department inspector general's office acknowledged that it is reviewing the use of "personal communications hardware and software" by Clinton's former top aides after requests from Congress.

'Come clean and cough it up'

"We will follow the facts wherever they lead, to include former aides and associates, as appropriate," Douglas Welty, a spokesman for the State Department's inspector general, told McClatchy and other news outlets.

Still, despite the acknowledgement, the State Department's IG office has not answered a number of key questions, like who is being investigated and what, exactly, is being investigated. Officially, the IG's office refused to comment and referred additional reporters' questions to the inspector general for the Intelligence Community, which has also been examining Clinton's use of a personal email server.

The IC IG determined last week that of 40 or so emails that office had examined, four were found to have contained sensitive or classified information. The Intelligence Community IG office did say, however, that it has been denied access to aides' emails by the State Department, and that Clinton, herself, is not a target.

But that could change and likely will, given Clinton's history of being less than honest with investigators and Congress regarding her personal server.

The expanding probe further threatens her frontrunner status for the Democratic nomination. Since it was revealed in March that she installed and used a personal email server, polling in key swing states indicate that increasing numbers of Democratic voters find her not trustworthy and dishonest, in part because of her private email use.

Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the GOP chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has demanded that Clinton and her trusted aides "come clean and cough up" information about the personal email use.

Polling numbers taking huge hits

"Both the State Department and Intelligence Community inspectors general should be looking into the staff use of the Clinton private server for official State Department business. This means giving both inspectors general access and custody of all emails that haven't already been deleted," he said, as quoted by McClatchy. "From what is publicly known, it appears that the investigation thus far has focused so much on the former secretary of state, that it's gotten lost that high-level staff apparently also used this server too."

At least four top aides have now surrendered their records, which include copies of work emails on personal accounts, to the State Department, the agency that is collecting them in response to a Capitol Hill subpoena, the department says. Congress has demanded "records, including personal emails, from six other aides, but it's unknown whether they used personal email for work," McClatchy Papers reported.

Some have suggested that Clinton's longtime Washington presence – as first lady, a U.S. senator and Secretary of State – has given her a wealth of connections throughout the bureaucracy that are likely stalling the investigation. But as it drags on and more revelations are publicized, her polling numbers are likely to continue to suffer.

Sources:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com

http://www.politico.com

https://www.law.cornell.edu

https://oig.state.gov^[PDF]