State Department Audit Faults Clinton On Private e-mail Use

A State Department review
has faulted Hillary Clinton for her exclusive use of a private e-mail server during her tenure as Secretary of State, the report said yesterday.
It said that the practice posed a security risk and did not comply with government records laws.
Revelations that Clinton used a personal e-mail address and a server located in her home have raised questions about her tenure at the State Department and dogged her presidential campaign for months.
The State Department Office of Inspector General report, which leaked on Wednesday, found Clinton had not sought permission for her unusual e-mail arrangement and would likely have been denied had she sought permission.
The report details warnings to Clinton aides about problems with the e-mail arrangement that were ignored.
The report noted that Clinton was not alone in exclusively using a personal e-mail account and that former Secretary of State, Colin Powell (2001-05) had done so as well.
However, it noted that security protocols were more advanced during Clinton’s tenure.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, mentioned the Inspector-general report in a broadside against Clinton at a campaign rally Wednesday in California.
“She’s as crooked as they come; she had a little bad news today, as you know, from some reports that came down that weren’t so good.
“Inspector-general report not good,” he said.
Republicans have long said the issues showed Clinton is untrustworthy and raised questions about her judgement.
“The inspector-general’s findings are just the latest chapter in the long saga of Hillary Clinton’s bad judgement that broke federal rules and endangered our national security,” Republican National Committee Chairman, Reince Priebus said.
“The stakes are too high in this election to entrust the White House to someone with as much poor judgement and reckless disregard for the law as Hillary Clinton.”
Clinton’s campaign stressed that the report showed her actions were not unique.
It shows that the State Department officials knew she was using a private account, and that she took steps to preserve her records.
The report is due to be publicly released on Thursday, but the Washington Post published a copy of it on its website on Wednesday.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner would not comment on the specifics of the report before its official release, but said that the department has complied with all the recommendations handed down to improve security.