FBI unveils notes on Clinton's use of private email

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hillary Clinton told the FBI she relied on her staff not to send emails containing classified information to the private email server she used as secretary of state, the Associated Press reports.

The revelation came Friday, September 2 as the FBI, in a rare step, published scores of pages summarizing interviews with Clinton and her top aides from the recently closed criminal investigation into her use of a private email server in the basement of her Chappaqua, New York, home.

The Democratic presidential nominee told the FBI she never sought or asked permission to use a private server or email address during her tenure as the nation's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013. A prior review by the State Department's internal watchdog concluded the practice violated several polices for the safekeeping and preservation of federal records.

The latest developments highlight competing liabilities for Clinton. Either she made a conscious effort to prevent a full public accounting of her tenure at State or she was nonchalant about decisions with national security consequences and risks. The first scenario plays into Republican arguments and voter concerns about her trustworthiness and transparency, while the second casts doubt on her pitch as a hyper-competent, detail-driven executive.

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Friday the campaign was pleased the FBI had released the documents.

"While her use of a single email account was clearly a mistake and she has taken responsibility for it, these materials make clear why the Justice Department believed there was no basis to move forward with this case," Fallon said, according to AP.

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump countered that Clinton's "answers to the FBI about her private email server defy belief."

"After reading these documents, I really don't understand how she was able to get away from prosecution," Trump said in a statement.

Clinton has repeatedly said her use of private email was allowed. But over a 3½-hour interview in July, she told investigators she "did not explicitly request permission to use a private server or email address," the FBI wrote. Clinton said no one at the State Department raised concerns during her tenure, and she said everyone with whom she exchanged emails knew she was using a private email address.