The absurdity of retroactive classification in a nutshell.
"Former ambassador Dennis Ross, who has held key diplomatic posts in administrations of both parties, said that one of his exchanges now marked “secret” contained information that government officials last year allowed him to publish in a book." From the WA Post link, below.
As head of the State Department, Hillary was vested legally with the full authority to determine the classification status of any State Department document. Only Obama himself had greater authority.
But 104 of the emails that are now being retroactively classified by "analysts" from other departments in response to a FOIA request were written by Hillary herself -- the one person at State with the ultimate authority to determine whether classification was needed.
So these analysts, all clearly victims of CYA syndrome, are deciding to retroactively classify documents that the SoS decided, when she wrote them, didn't need classification. The analysts are doing this just in case, and because there are never any consequences for needlessly classifying documents.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-on-her-private-server-wrote-104-emails-the-government-says-are-classified/2016/03/05/11e2ee06-dbd6-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html
Hillary Clinton wrote 104 emails that she sent using her private server while secretary of state that the government has since said contain classified information, according to a new Washington Post analysis of Clinton’s publicly released correspondence.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-classified-national-security-information
Sec. 1.3. Classification Authority. (a) The authority to classify information originally may be exercised only by:
(1) the President and the Vice President;
(2) agency heads and officials designated by the President; and
(3) United States Government officials delegated this authority pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section.
(b) Officials authorized to classify information at a specified level are also authorized to classify information at a lower level.
(c) Delegation of original classification authority.
(1) Delegations of original classification authority shall be limited to the minimum required to administer this order. Agency heads are responsible for ensuring that designated subordinate officials have a demonstrable and continuing need to exercise this authority.
(2) "Top Secret" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President, the Vice President, or an agency head or official designated pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(3) "Secret" or "Confidential" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President, the Vice President, an agency head or official designated pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section, or the senior agency official designated under section 5.4(d) of this order, provided that official has been delegated "Top Secret" original classification authority by the agency head.
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