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Hillary Clinton's email server violated State Department rules, audit finds Hillary Clinton's email server violated State Department rules, audit finds
(about 3 hours later)
Hillary Clinton disregarded various State Department guidelines for avoiding cybersecurity risks, an internal audit found on Wednesday. Hillary Clinton’s efforts to move on from a damaging email controversy suffered their biggest setback yet on Wednesday with the release of an internal report finding she broke multiple government rules by using a private server rather than more secure official communication systems.
The inspector general’s 78-page analysis, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press, cites “longstanding, systemic weaknesses” related to the agency’s communications. These started before Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state, but her failures were singled out as more serious. The 78-page investigation by the inspector general of the State Department singled out several previously unknown breaches by Clinton while she was secretary of state, including the use of mobile devices to conduct official business without checking whether they posed a security risk.
Although the report is potentially less damaging than a separate investigation by the FBI into whether she broke federal laws, it poses a significant challenge to the Clinton campaign, which has recently slipped behind Donald Trump in opinion polling.
Related: Sorry, Hillary Clinton fans: her email errors are definitely newsworthy | Trevor Timm
Trump has stepped up attacks on Clinton’s trustworthiness in recent days and is likely to seize on the report as Democrats wait nervously for the FBI decision on whether to bring charges against Clinton or any of her advisers.
The Clinton campaign put a brave face on the inspector general’s report on Wednesday, pointing to sections that dealt with similar lapses in email security by previous office holders.
A spokesman for Clinton said the report showed that her email practices were “consistent” with those of past secretaries and senior officials.
A Clinton spokesman, Brian Fallon, said that the report showed problems with the State Department’s electronic record-keeping systems “were longstanding” and emphasized that her use of a private email server “was known to officials within the department during her tenure”.
Fallon acknowledged that “steps ought to have been taken” to better maintain official records.
However, the full report, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press (AP), cites “longstanding, systemic weaknesses” related to the agency’s communications. These started before Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state, but her failures were singled out as more serious and were said to disregard various State Department guidelines for avoiding cybersecurity risks.
Despite guidelines to the contrary, Clinton used mobile devices to conduct official business on her personal email account and private server. She never sought approval from senior information officers, who would have refused the request because of security risks, the audit said.Despite guidelines to the contrary, Clinton used mobile devices to conduct official business on her personal email account and private server. She never sought approval from senior information officers, who would have refused the request because of security risks, the audit said.
“By Secretary Clinton’s tenure, the department’s guidance was considerably more detailed and more sophisticated,” it concluded. “Secretary Clinton’s cybersecurity practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives.”“By Secretary Clinton’s tenure, the department’s guidance was considerably more detailed and more sophisticated,” it concluded. “Secretary Clinton’s cybersecurity practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives.”
A spokesman for Hillary Clinton said the report showed that her email practices were “consistent” with those of past secretaries and senior officials. Clinton has been dogged by questions about her email practices for more than a year, since the AP revealed that the clintonemail.com server was in the basement of her New York home while she served as the nation’s top diplomat from 2009-2013.
Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement on Wednesday that the report showed problems with the State Department’s electronic record-keeping systems “were longstanding” and emphasized that her use of a private email server “was known to officials within the department during her tenure”. Though accepting it “highlighted challenges [it] and others are facing” the State Department itself sought to downplay the independent report by its inspector general at a briefing in Washington.
Fallon acknowledged that “steps ought to have been taken” to better maintain official records. “The policies regarding use of email have only really been clarified over the past several years. Many agencies are struggling with it,” spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at a daily press briefing.
Clinton has been dogged by questions about her email practices for more than a year, since the AP revealed that the clintonemail.com server was in the basement of her New York home while she served as the nation’s top diplomat from 2009-2013. It has also been raised as an issue in her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. “We do now have policies that would make it hard to set up alternative email. Clinton said she would not have made same choice again.”
Related: Sorry, Hillary Clinton fans: her email errors are definitely newsworthy | Trevor Timm He rejected suggestions, however, that the department was trying to “spin” the report, which will be officially published on Thursday.
Separately from the State Department audit, FBI agents have been investigating whether Clinton’s use of a private email server imperiled government secrets. “There’s not any effort to spin this. There’s not any effort to hide or obfuscate,” said Toner. “We acknowledge that we need to do a better job with our record keeping.”
Clinton has acknowledged in the campaign that her home email setup was a mistake, but said she never sent or received anything marked classified at the time.
A State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, said the agency was “already working” to improve its email and records management system.
Toner said: “It is clear that the department could have done a better job preserving emails and records of secretaries of state and their senior staff going back several administrations.”
He said the State Department also agrees that compliance with its rules has been “inconsistent across several administrations”.
The independent review by the department’s inspector general was prompted by the revelations of Clinton’s email use, but the audit also encompassed the email and information practices of the past five secretaries.
The report said the department and its secretaries were “slow to recognize and to manage effectively the legal requirements and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic data communications, particularly as those risks pertain to its most senior leadership”.