Intel Community and DOS IGs found that HRC "emails were not retroactively classified"

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110. WaPo (03/10/16) HRC campaign fears "the two (IG) offices issue a report that is damaging to Clinton"

On January 19, 2016, the IGs of the Intelligence Community and State Department issued a second short letter to Congress reconfirming that the two offices had found 22 emails containing material deemed to be classified Top Secret/SAP. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/19/intelligence-community-watchdog-reconfirms-that-dozens-of-clinton-emails-were-classified/

The next round of major activity in the case followed on March 10, when the Clinton campaign and allies on Capitol Hill publicly attacked the credibility and independence of the IGs of both the State Department and the Intelligence Community. The IGs were accused of bias by some Democratic members of the intelligence committees. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/10/congressional-democrats-say-they-have-serious-questions-about-watchdogs-clinton-email-reviews/

The dual complaints from the campaign trail and from Capitol Hill regarding the watchdogs could be an effort to proactively inoculate Clinton should one of the two offices issue a report that is damaging to Clinton's presidential campaign. Clinton's campaign has already aggressively worked to undermine the credibility of the two offices. Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Clinton's campaign, has accused the inspector general of the intelligence community of working in concert with Senate Republicans to release information about classified material in Clinton's email to damage her. And he has complained that a top official in the State Department's IG office used to work for Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa). He declined to comment on the new congressional letter.

Government Executive news pinpointed growing fears of the direction of forthcoming reports. On March 11, the Washington-based publication, Government Executive, identified the source of the intensifying partisan accusations against the IGs of both agencies as determinations that Clinton's server contained top secret emails, and that finding might find its way into one or both agency's reports: http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2016/03/democratic-lawmakers-accuse-igs-bias-clinton-email-probe/126617/

The lawmakers also questioned the qualifications of the IGs in classification decision making. “Classification determinations are complex, subjective, often in dispute between different agencies, and are not normally within the purview of Inspectors General,” they wrote. “In fact, inspectors general are not even mentioned in Executive Order 13526, which establishes the rules for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information. We are concerned that the review process being undertaken by the two inspector general offices has not taken these complexities or the interagency differences on each email into account.”

They asked that “any future reviews and releases be 100 percent accurate, impartial and complete. We also expect written communications regarding your offices’ review to be precise and impartial,” they said.

The State Dept IG issued a statement reaffirming his office's commitment to independence and nonpartisanship. The IC IG declined public comment, and has been quiet on this topic since. The State Department IG issued its report two weeks ago, which most pointedly did not touch on violations of law. The IG of the Intelligence Community has continued to quietly investigate, and is expected to issue its own findings, likely before the FBI report is published.