“The IC IG found four emails containing classified
IC-derived information in a limited sample of 40 emails of the 30,000 emails
provided by former Secretary Clinton. The four emails, which have not been
released through the State FOIA process, did not contain classification
markings and/or dissemination controls. These
emails were not retroactively classified by the State Department; rather these
emails contained classified information when they were generated and, according
to IC classification officials, that information remains classified today [Ed. Note – emphasis mine]. This classified information should never
have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system.”
After taking a sample of 40 emails the Intelligence
Community determined that Mrs. Clinton sent 4 emails that were classified at
the time they were sent. Doing that once is a mistake, doing it more than once
is negligence. She had over 30,000 emails can we expect to see 10% of those to
be classified as well? Professionals that
I know are careful about such things. When in doubt about classification, they
ask those with authority to review such things before transmission, not after.
Mrs. Clinton claims whatever she sent was unclassified. Maybe she didn’t, but somebody working for her did [Huma
Abedin? Cheryl Mills?]. It strains credibility to the breaking point to
think that the Secretary of State conducts business in an unclassified environment.
To conduct classified business in an unclassified environment is reckless and
negligent. There is a reason we keep
classified information within secure, closed networks. John Kerry thinks the Chinese and the
Russians are probably reading his
emails. "Unfortunately, we're living in a world where a number of
countries, China and Russia included, have consistently been engaged in
cyberattacks against American interests, against American government." Mr. Kerry is aware of the cyber threat and
writes his own emails assuming our adversaries are reading them. Apparently Mrs. Clinton has made no such
assumption.
For those who don’t know how serious this breach of
security can be, here is a primer of security classifications and what it means
to illegally disclose information classified as such:
Top Secret - the
unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally
grave damage to the national security
Secret - the
unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause serious
damage to the national security
Confidential - the
unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause damage
to the national security
To insure the protection of classified information, the
government uses closed, secure networks. For Secret information, information is
transmitted via the Secret
Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET). For Top Secret information, including emails,
images, or information derived from “other” sources, that information is
transmitted via Joint
Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS). To transmit or receive anything via JWICS,
one must have a JWICS “drop,” which can be located only in a SCIF. I’m guessing Mrs. Clinton doesn’t have a SCIF
in her house, so how did Top Secret information get on her unclassified server? Thumb drives.
JWICS and SIPRNET are closed networks and can’t be accessed from just
any unclassified system. Information has
to be “air gapped” from one network to another.
Does this scenario sound familiar?
Edward Snowden used thumb drives to store classified information that he
downloaded from the networks to which he had access before he fled the country. Mrs. Clinton’s lawyer has [or had – the FBI
might have it now] a thumb drive in his possession that contains classified
information. How did he come to have
this information? I’m sure he doesn’t
have a security clearance, and he definitely doesn’t have “need to know” for
such things. One needs to have both the
appropriate security clearance and the need to know to have access to it.
Since before the revelations of Edward Snowden, DoD has banned the use of
thumb drives on all DoD computers, including unclassified computers. I am certain that the State Department’s
guidelines are similar to those of DoD.
Use of such things (or connecting any sort of media) with computers is
traceable. If I as a contractor used
such a thing with my government laptop without permission, I would be called on
the carpet with the Operations Group Commander to have a one-way conversation and
then probably fired. That would just be
the beginning of my problems. And that
is just if I do that on an unclassified laptop.
I shudder to think of the penalties for doing such a thing on a
classified system. Chelsea Manning is an
expert on such matters. She is currently
serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth for violating the Espionage Act.
There is another thing to consider.
It has been reported some of the classified information on Mrs.
Clinton’s server originated from the CIA.
It has been my experience that though they may share information with
others, they don’t release that information to others [not willingly anyway]. They use a handling term called ORCON, which
means “originator controlled.” Such
material is very conspicuously marked with the ORCON label – it is hard to
miss. The CIA is very touchy about ORCON
information. ORCON means that they and
only they can control what happens with said information. It’s their way of protecting sources and
methods. You can read it, you can study
it, but you can’t cite it as a source in intelligence reporting. If you want to use said information, you need
to find another source to corroborate it.
So if Mrs. Clinton or any of her staff possesses any ORCON material
without the CIA’s knowledge, they get very annoyed with that sort of thing. And when the CIA gets annoyed, prosecutions
tend to be the next step.
This is not the first time a Clinton or somebody connected with the
Clintons have demonstrated a cavalier attitude toward handling classified
information. Cases in point are Sandy Berger and John Deutsch. Both served Bill Clinton in sensitive
positions. John Deutsch was found to
have some highly classified information on his unclassified, personal laptop
computer. He lost his security clearance
as a result, and the only reason he isn’t in jail is because he received a
pardon from Bill Clinton hours before George W. Bush became president. Sandy Berger visited the National Archives
and walked out with classified papers shoved down his pants. He got probation and was fined $50,000.
This is an issue of trust. When we receive security clearances, we are
bestowed with a trust to protect information that our adversaries would find
damaging to our security and to our interests.
When one willfully mishandles classified information that trust is
violated. Once that trust is violated,
it’s very difficult to get it back.
Hillary Clinton is a security risk.
