Justice Dept. affirms Clinton could delete personal emails

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had the right to delete personal emails from her private server, the Justice Department told a federal court.

Lawyers for the government made the assertion in a filing this week with the U.S. District Court in Washington, part of a public records lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group that seeks access to Clinton's emails.

Clinton, the former secretary of state and front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, has been dogged by questions about her use of a private email account for government business.

She has said that she sent and received about 60,000 emails during her four years in the Obama administration, about half of which were personal and deleted. The others were turned over to the State Department.

FULL story at link.


In this Sept. 10, 2015, photo, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Milwaukee. The Justice Department is affirming that Clinton had the right to delete personal emails from her private server. Government lawyers made the assertion in a court filing this week in a public records lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, an advocacy group. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d30a9840408246438636619338c85ed2/justice-dept-affirms-clinton-could-delete-personal-emails

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Months of scandal over nothing

I wonder what will come up next.

[Jason Huh]

13. Next scandal? Her ongoing sexual relationship with Bill Clinton!

Which was going on while he was President!

[Agnosticsherbet]

15. And in the white House yet.

[Jason Huh]

31. IN THE LINCOLN BEDROOM, God Help Us!!!!!

Is there no end to this woman's evil???

[madville]

16. This has nothing to do with the classified info

This is concerning FOIA requests, two completely separate issues.

This is basically saying federal record keeping laws don't apply to her personal emails, wasn't a big issue to begin with.

[Heinz_Golderian]

35. The issue she has to be concerned with

is the satellite imagery that was in emails on her personal server and is classified: TOP SECRET//SI//TK//NOFORN

'little people' have been burned for having a lot lower classified stuff than that in their possession instead of secured facilities/equipment.

All the other stuff is really sideshow.

[catnhatnh]

2. More info

Judicial Watch, which had at least 16 active open-records lawsuits against the State Department seeking emails from Mrs. Clinton or her top aides, said the administration is ignoring its own guidelines in trying to clear Mrs. Clinton.

“Indeed, the State Department’s own rules specify that personal records of a departing presidential appointee may not be removed from the government until the State Department ‘records officer in cooperation with the S/ES or appropriate administrative office’ approves of the removal, a process which ‘generally requires a hands-on examination of the materials,’ ” Judicial Watch said in a reply brief.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/10/justice-department-rules-hillary-clinton-followed-/

[Kingofalldems]

4. Anything from the Moonie times is not 'info'.

[Laser102]

22. Amen to that. Right wing rag. Then again all the papers are morphing into that.

[pnwmom]

6. Judicial Watch and Washington Times are both right-wing outlets. n/t

[840high]

18. Thanks.

[Beacool]

43. This is the second time that you are quoting Judicial Watch.

Either you don't know anything about Larry Klayman or you just don't care that he's a RW nut job who has been after the Clintons since the 90s without any success.

No self-respecting Democrat should quote from the Washington Times and Judicial Watch.

This site has hit new lows in their attempt to besmirch Hillary Clinton.

Pathetic!!!

[underpants]

3. On Friday night huh?

[riversedge]

9. This story came out yesterday but cable and networks were silent till now

except for Wash times-the RW rag. this story has had 24 /7 coverage and all of sudden yesterday and today they were silent. Thin report on it late Friday night.

Something is seriously wrong here.

[Phantomaz]

5. Too late. The media made voters think otherwise

That's how the Clinton-hating press corps works. They lie, then they say "oops", but millions have read the BS.

[Geronimoe]

7. BS

There is no way the Justice Department knows what was deleted, whether personal or classified. Once you delete, wipe drive, and delete backups, there is no way to know what was deleted. Anyone else would be charged with contamination of evidence. And one would believe only the worst scenario is true.

If half of her emails were personal, she is your stereotypical government worker, not efficient and not putting in a full day of real work. In the real business world, employees don't get to mingle personal with business. Most business have rules that prevent employees from sending and receiving personal emails during business hours on company email accounts.

This inside the beltway elitist needs to retire. Take her hundreds of milions or possibly over a billion and enjoy her numerous mansions.

[Phantomaz]

11. Do you hereby predict tha the judge will rule that Hillary broke the law?

?

[Geronimoe]

23. I PREDICT NOTHING

I do not have a crystal ball that can see the future. However, my guess is that I am your typical Democrat and American, who is fed up with the inside the beltway BS, that many including the Clintons are willing to play, instead of fight against.

I do work as an IT professional. There is no means to believe a private server was legit or met even normal business standards. Hillary can claim she was stupid and not thinking, too busy. Okay, if true, stupidity should not be rewarded with highest office in the US.

This campaign cycle appears to be against the establishment. In the Democratic Party. Clintons are the establishment. We don't want to have the Donald win and this seems likely to happen if it comes down to Clinton V, Donald.

I don't know if Bush or Clinton is more responsible for destroying the middle class. Does it matter? They both are willing to indenture American workers to Global corporations' short term profit reporting. Anyone who has worked for a publicly traded corporation knows how meaningless this is.

[Phantomaz]

36. You don't have to have a Chrystal ball to predict outcomes

If you really think the DOJ argument is "BS" shouldn't you be confident that the judge will rule in favor of your Judicial Watch?

[branford]

41. The DOJ's opinion on the legality of deleting personal email

is not particularly important nor novel, although since the deletions no one can tell if they were personal or government-related.

The real issue is how the voters feel about the wisdom of the deletions and Clinton's explanations for use of a personal email account and server while Sec. of State.(as well as other legal and political matters like classified information contained in the emails which was not part of the DOJ opinion).

[Phantomaz]

44. You said Hillary should be charged with contamination of evidence"

You got yourself in a pickle, because you said, "anyone else would be charged with contamination of evidence"?
Oh yeah? Why would anyone else be charged with that crime?

Your comment was about legality. Don't try to make it about "wisdom".

Tel us more about the law regarding "contamination of evidence" and how Hillary broke it.

[branford]

45. Where did I suggest Hillary should be charged with anything?

My only post in this thread, and the one you responded to, was about how the purported email scandal was largely a political rather than legal issue. Voters might not care if Ms. Clinton receives a total legal exoneration if they still believe her conduct lacked transparency, was deceptive, or her explanations insufficient or insincere. Might you be confusing me with another DU member?

To the extent legal issues are at play, it's hardly surprising that a government official can delete personal emails, but determining if only personal emails were deleted or if the personal server was used to improperly exchange classified information present far thornier legal matters.

[Phantomaz]

46. I thought I was talking to Geronimoe

Because it never crossed my mind that someone would try to speak for him.

Geronimoe, if you are reading this, why did you say that Hillary should be charged with "contamination of evidence"?

And sice you, branford, disagree with Geronimoe, you can stay out of this.

[silenttigersong]

17. Dog Pony Show

has reached a stalemate

[840high]

20. ...^ that

[blackspade]

21. "evidence" of what?

And do you even work in the 'business world?'
Because your post has no basis in reality.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

25. I didn't know HRC is a billionaire and has mansion(s)

This inside the beltway elitist needs to retire. Take her hundreds of milions or possibly over a billion and enjoy her numerous mansions.

She has a net worth of $21 million and a home in upper middle class Chappaqua.

For reference Clayton Kershaw made $32 million for starting 30 or so baseball games last year.

BTW, somebody suggested she didn't work hard. This seems like hard work to me:

Hillary Clinton has logged some serious frequent flier miles. According to the State Department, the most-traveled Secretary of State in history visited 112 countries during her four-year tenure, traversing 956,733 miles -- enough to span the globe more than 38 times -- and spending 401 total days on the road.

[Orrex]

32. "My name is Hillary R. Clinton, billionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht."

[blackspade]

33. Me neither, go figure...

[Geronimoe]

34. You are not fooling anyone except yourself

Of course the Clinton assets are not in their own name, rather in family trusts & foundations.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

38. I believe you have them confused with the Kennedys

You are not fooling anyone except yourself. Of course the Clinton assets are not in their own name, rather in family trusts & foundations.

I believe you have them mixed up with the Kennedys:

If America had an aristocracy, the most titled bloodline would certainly be the Kennedys. In the past half century, one Kennedy after another has occupied nearly every political position America has to offer, including the roles of congressman, senator, ambassador, mayor, SEC chairman, state representative, city councilman, and, of course, President.

The sustaining force behind the Kennedys reign is hardly a secret. Thanks to Joseph P. Kennedy, who made a fortune from insider trading only to later chair the SEC, the family is fabulously rich. But exactly how much is America’s first family worth? Forbes pegs the extended family’s fortune at $1 billion.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/carlodonnell/2014/07/08/how-the-1-billion-kennedy-family-fortune-defies-death-and-taxes-3/


I judge people by the contents of their character and not the contents of their bank and investment accounts. I know a wealthy trial lawyer with homes in Winter Park, Bermuda, and Milan who spent her weekends in the Fall of 2008 in predominately minority and working class Pine Hills, Florida registering folks to vote for Barack Obama. I digress...

Please provide me a link to these Clinton trusts and foundations that comprise their one billion dollar net worth. Oh, please provide me a link to their real estate holdings (mansions).

Thank you in advance.

[Laser102]

24. I'll buy your logic when all previous SOS present their emails. Powell comes to mind.

You would think the lead up to a war that killed thousands would be much more interesting than this stuff. Wouldn't you? Also, a SOS is not an average worker.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. I would like to know how HRCs 21 million became a billion and how her home in upper middle class...

I would like to know how HR's 21 million became a billion and how her home in upper middle class Chappaqua morphed into several mansions.

[A Simple Game]

26. Exactly, who decided what was personnel and what was business? That is the problem.

I don't think Hillary did anything bad on purpose but why would someone supposedly that smart put themselves in such a position? It's not like she would expect the GOP to say "no problem Hillary, do whatever you want, we won't say anything". Right or wrong, she of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" should have expected this. It's hard to feel sorry for some people.

[Lychee2]

40. Her lawyers did it.

But I don't think they were looking for national security material, which is why so much slipped through. They were looking for something else. I suspect they were looking for emails to foreign governments & corporations regarding State Department approval for various projects (weapons sales, US investments in strategic materials, etc.), and emails containing offers of funding for the Clinton foundation, and for Bill's speeches.

For some of these possible arrangements, here's link to a detailed piece by an old friend of Bernie's, David Sirota.

http://www.ibtimes.com/clinton-foundation-donors-got-weapons-deals-hillary-clintons-state-department-1934187

[A Simple Game]

42. Yup, personal lawyers instead of State Department lawyers, makes complete sense doesn't it? n/t

[PosterChild]

47. So if she had an official state department account...

... who would decide exactly what what was personal and what was business ? Umm, she would! So what?

She wouldn't be allowed to delete email on her personal account under those circumstances ? This whole Personal email server-side issue is bull in my humble opinion .

[A Simple Game]

48. You wouldn't do personal email on your business account, you would do it on your personal account.

Then you are in control of your personal email and the business, or government are in charge of your business account. See how that works? It's not that hard, millions and millions of people do it every day because it actually makes emails much easier to keep sorted. No accidentally filing a correspondence from the President of Russia in your folder for Cat Pics of the day.

You do State Department Business on your State Department Email Account and Personal Email on your Personal Account. Wow, that took me all day to figure that out, hard to believe millions and millions of people have been doing it every day for years.

But who can blame Hillary for this slight, it's not like she has ever had a problem with the Republicans nit-picking her every move for years.

[pnwmom]

29. Every State Department employee while at work has the option to decide before she sends an email

whether she sends it via a personal account or through .gov.

No one is looking over anyone's shoulder. Employees do this "sorting" themselves, every time they send an email.

Hillary, instead, looked at all the emails after they'd been sent, and THEN sorted them.

Why should employees be trusted to do sorting ahead of time, but not afterwards?

It makes no sense.

And as far as your other argument is concerned, being Secretary of State is basically a 24-hour a day job, being on call for anything that might happen. No one cares how many personal emails she sends over the course of her 24 hours. She no doubt worked days much longer than 8 hours, routinely.

[riversedge]

8. MCClatchy: Justice Department: Clinton had right to delete personal emails

Chris just did a story on this--no one except Washington times a RW rag --was reporting on this. this important story was released yesterday.



http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article34977387.html




September 11, 2015


Justice Department: Clinton had right to delete personal emails




Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the House Benghazi Committee whose investigation sparked the furor over Hillary Clinton’s emails, oversaw a closed interview with Friday with Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s former chief of staff. HARRER BLOOMBERG NEWS

By Greg Gordon

[e-mail]



WASHINGTON

The Obama administration has forcefully defended former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s right to delete over 31,000 emails from her private server and says the State Department has no obligation to try to recover them.

“There is no question that former Secretary Clinton had authority to delete personal emails without agency supervision – she appropriately could have done so even if she were working on a government server,” lawyers for the Justice Department’s Civil Division wrote in a federal court brief that drew little notice when it was filed Wednesday.

But Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, one of a number of conservative-leaning groups suing over the emails, said Friday that the Justice Department “is out to lunch” because the emails on Clinton’s account effectively belonged to the government.

“This is jaw dropping,” he said.
............
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article34977387.html#storylink=cpy

[forest444]

10. If Roevvels can delete 22 million (and with no media fuss), Hillary can surely delete 60,000.

What's good for the goose-stepper...

[yallerdawg]

12. The molehill getting smaller.

No law against deleting personal emails anywhere on any server! It's just email for God's sake!

No smoking gun Benghazi emails.

No email server requirements for the Cabinet Head (not 'employee').

Just Clinton 'higher standard' innuendo and speculation.

The pile of bullshit is certain to get larger. But that is baked in - it's a Democrat named Clinton!

[still_one]

14. of course it is reported on Friday when no one is paying attention

[blackspade]

19. I'm not in the Clinton camp but...

There is no public good served by trolling her personal e-mails.
This not an public records issue, it's a fishing expedition to parse her personal contacts for the purposes of a political smear campaign.
It's pathetic.

[rocktivity]

28. If only she hadn't apologized.

If only she'd been patient for just a few more days, she could have laughed the whole thing off as Benghazi-an.


rocktivity

[youceyec]

30. mainstream media is biased

they will not report on this. The campaign has to let folks know.

[Gothmog]

37. The law is clear here-Clinton's actions were legal

[mcar]

39. K&R

Won't stop the "liberal" media but still good news.