I have two questions about the email controversy

[paulthompson]

55. Your two questions

First,

Let's imagine that you're Secretary Clinton and you get this email from Sid Blumenthal, who is a private citizen with no security clearance at the time, but it obviously getting real classified information from somewhere, based on the hundreds of emails he sends to Clinton:

In July 2012, he sent Clinton an email about Egypt he said was "CONFIDENTIAL," which is the third level of classified information according to US government regulations. Then he gave this warning: "SOURCE: Sources with access to the highest levels of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and Western Intelligence and security services. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM AN EXTREMELY SENSITIVE SOURCE AND SHOULD BE HANDLED WITH CARE."

Now, is that not ample warning, at the time, that that email contains classified information? (And by the way, the all caps are in the original email.)

Regardless, the whole issue of classified information being marked or not is a red herring. Clinton signed a pledge the day she became secretary of state saying it was her responsibility to determine what was classified or not, regardless of if it was marked as such. Also, rules mean that all correspondance about communications with foreign diplomats is deemed classified by its very nature. All correpondance dealing with secret sources (such as the above) are deemed classified by its very nature. All correspondance dealing with certain secret programs are deemed classified by its very nature. And so on.

And, as other people have pointed out, Clinton had the right to determine what was or was not classified for information originating from the State Department. But she didn't have that right for information originating elsewhere, such as the email from Blumenthal above.

And that's not some one off email I used as an example. She got hundreds of emails with similar warnings from Blumenthal alone. And she emailed classified information back to him, despite knowing he had no security clearance.