FBI’s Clinton email probe found evidence of effort to evade federal records law by John Solomon and Kellan Howell
http://circa.com/politics/accountability/fbis-hillary-clinton-email-probe-found-evidence-of-effort-to-evade-federal-records-law
New government sources have come forward to say that the former Secretary of State’s email abuse was “systemic and intentional” and began as soon as she took office in 2009 – according to a new report by John Solomon at Circa News. The FBI was building a solid case that Clinton violated the federal records law numerous times, but ultimately there was a decision to hide the email scandal that raises significant questions about the decision not to indict. Secretary Clinton kept the private server in order to avoid public scrutiny under the FOIA. When asked to turn over all private emails, sources confirm that about 15,000 emails from Mrs. Clinton’s private account were not given up. Of course, intentionally concealing, removing or destroying federal records violates the Federal Records Act and carries a fine and imprisonment up to three years. More than that: Violators “shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.” The decisions to hide the private email server were intentional and meant to go around the Federal Records Act.
The abuse was so bad that witnesses in the FBI investigation were forced to plead the fifth to avoid self-incrimination. John’s confirmed an agent was “scolded” by a supervisor and told never to raise the issue again.
THIS IS THE REPORT
Though it was not their primary mission, FBI agents who investigated Hillary Clinton’s email collected significant evidence suggesting she and her team violated federal record-keeping laws, including persisting to use a private Blackberry and server to conduct State Department business after being warned they posed legal and security risks, government sources tell Circa.The evidence was compelling enough to convince FBI Director James Comey that the Clinton team had not complied with record-keeping laws and to cause at least one witness to raise their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during an investigative interview, the sources said.
Other federal laws make it a felony to intentionally conceal, remove or destroy federal records as defined under the Act, punishable with a fine and imprisonment of up to three years. A single conviction also carries a devastating impact for anyone looking to work again in government because the law declares that any violator “shall forfeithis office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.”
For instance, the sources said agents secured testimony and documents suggesting that Mrs. Clinton’s team:
-Was informed in 2009 that she had an obligation under the records law to forward any government-related records contained in private email to a new record preservation system known as SMART but chose not to do so because her office wanted to keep control over “sensitive” messages.
-Was specifically questioned by a technical worker who was involved with her private email server in the Clinton family home in New York whether the arrangement was appropriate for a government official under the federal records law. The worker was assured there were no problems.
-Wanted to keep her private Blackerry email service because of fears a government email address would be subject to public scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act.
-Was aware that government officers complying with FOIA requests did not have access to search Mrs. Clinton’s private email for responsive records.
-Persisted in allowing her to use private email to conduct State Department business even after a cable was sent under her name in 2011 to all diplomats worldwide urging them to stop using private email because of foreign hacking fears.
-Allowed Clinton to keep using the private email system after after she personally received a 2011 presentation warning of dangers of the private email for government business.
-Failed to preserve private emails from Clinton that clearly involved significant government business, including discussions with Army Gen. David Petraues, the Benghazi tragedy, meeting requests with foreign leaders and the State Department’s quadrennial policy and performance review.
-Had prior reason from earlier legal cases involving their conduct to know that emails covering government business were legally required to be preserved and turned over to their agency and the National Archives.
During a brief aside at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in July, Comey, the FBI Director, was asked by a congressman if he believed Clinton complied with State Department procedures and federal record keeping laws.
“I don’t think so. I know you have the State inspector general here, who’s more of an expert on all the department’s policies, but at least in some respects, no,” he answered. Comey, however, offered no explanation why charges weren’t filed.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in mid-July that she did not believe her department had assessed whether Clinton or her team violated the Records Act.
“I don’t know if that was under the purview of the investigation. I don’t recall a specific opinion on that,” she said.
The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But Mrs. Clinton has said she regrets using private email to conduct official State Department business. Her former chief of staff Cheryl Mills also expressed some regret, saying the Clinton team thought her records would be preserved because her private emails usually went to other government email accounts, but that was mistaken.
Former President Bill Clinton was less apologetic, strongly dismissing Comey’s and the FBI’s criticism of his wife. “This is the biggest load of bull I ever heard,” he said a few weeks ago.
A retired federal prosecutor told Circa the FBI and DOJ could easily have brought a case if the evidence pointed toward intentional violations.
“If you get enough instances of people violating the Federal Records Act and if it’s a group of folks then you could look at things like a conspiracy, or a criminal enterprise, that could bump it up to a felony,” said.
Matt Whitaker, who served as U.S. Attorney for Iowa under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama and now runs a conservative-leaning government ethics group.
“There are a lot of intentional acts including the setting up of the private email server that probably could go to a question of was this intentional and was this violation of both the records act and the handling of classified material.”
Whitaker said he believes a special prosecutor should be appointed to review the Records Act questions because “in thispolitical silly season it appears that the FBI and especially the Department of Justice doesn’t have the stomach to pursue the potential charges that emanate from this behavior.”
Records Act issues in its final report to the Justice Department.
But it chose to defer to State to decide if criminal charges should be filed. “It’s their records and their determination to make,” one source said, describing the philosophy that governed the FBI’s final decision.
In a noninvestigative report in June, the State Department’s internal watchdog concluded Mrs. Clinton was one of only three senior department officials in the last two decades to use a private email accountexclusively for government business and that her team did not comply with the record-keeping policies of the Federal Records Act.
Douglas Welty, a spokesman for the State IG, said Thursday the office has no further work planned on the Clinton email scandal. “The OIG has completed its work. The OIG does not comment on whether or not it has referred, or will refer, any particular matter to DOJ,” he wrote in an email to Circa.
State Department officials declined comment.
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