Clinton to hand over email server to FBI

[Bowfinger]

One of the reasons why security is such a big deal is touched on by the copy of the post below found on GLP.

I would add also that if one is able to take stuff off of servers, then one can also put stuff on.

I don't suppose you'd happen to have the name of these "world class cyber security experts," would you? Because, assuming Godlikeproductions.com accurately presented their comments, they are either complete idiots about cyber security or shameless liars. Especially re. #2, this "backdoor portal" they cry about is called ... the Internet. There are millions of servers and PCs around the globe "tied into the main State Department system" just like Clinton's was. That's the way the Internet and email work.

As far as this being the "LARGEST BREACH OF US CYBER SECURITY IN AMERICAN HISTORY!!," that has to be one of the most ridiculous and frankly, most brain-numbingly stupid claims I've ever seen here (and that's saying something). It's sad to think there are actually people gullible enough to swallow such nonsense. I have no idea who Godlikeproductions.com is, but I'm guessing they make nice bank separating fools from their money. Good grief.


Edit: I now know Godlikeproductions.com is just a forum for conspiracy cranks, who are free to post whatever random BS they can invent. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to those "security experts" and assume the quoted post was largely fabricated. (I would hate for any IT professionals to actually be so ignorant.) I hope C1 posted it as a joke as doesn't truly believe such nonsense.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Only by fools. As SoS, she has the power & the right to classify or not classify information at will. She also had the right to send & store such non-classified information anywhere she damned well pleased, as did her predecessors.

Too simple, obviously.

It would have been simple if she just handed over the untouched server right from the beginning.

 

[Darwin333]

Are you fucking kidding? Jesus they did it again! An investigation of Whitewater became a search of a cum stained dress. Using the same playbook, an investigation of something patently ridiculous (Benghazi) becomes a search of her private server. I am impressed beyong comprehension at how good the Republicans are at this shit. Unfortunately even though their actions were evil and partisan in getting this unwarranted seach, it appears that Clinton did in fact engage in behaviour that was illegal.

How in the fuck did Republicans manage this while the Democrats were completely unable to get a search of Bush/Cheney's little group of felons private servers? Good christ, there was real and lasting damage done by that band of traitors. That Clinton could actually go to jail while those cretins walk around free makes the bile rise in my throat.

So it's not that multiple criminals going free that makes the bile rise in your throat it's that only one criminal, one it sounds like you happen to like, might face justice that really gets the bile flowing?

 

[Darwin333]

Clinton is not going to jail because what she did was not illegal. Not following communications protocols is not the same thing as violating the law. If it was, she would have been arrested by now.

Honest question, I generally don't follow the political circle jerk that happens ever 4 years....

If Clinton isn't suspected of any criminal activity whatsoever then why is the FBI involved? Aren't they pretty much solely interested in criminal activity?

 

[Blackjack200]

Honest question, I generally don't follow the political circle jerk that happens ever 4 years....

If Clinton isn't suspected of any criminal activity whatsoever then why is the FBI involved? Aren't they pretty much solely interested in criminal activity?

According to WaPo:

The FBI’s interest in Clinton’s e-mail system comes after the intelligence community’s inspector general referred the issue to the Justice Department in July. Intelligence officials expressed concern that some sensitive information was not in the government’s possession and could be “compromised.” The referral did not accuse Clinton of any wrongdoing, and the two officials said Tuesday that the FBI is not targeting her.

Kendall confirmed the contact, saying: “The government is seeking assurance about the storage of those materials. We are actively cooperating.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...dd85ec-3aae-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html

 

[Darwin333]

From your own link-


But Mr. Aftergood also noted that as secretary of state, Mrs. Clinton was the top classification authority for the entire State Department, with broad discretion to determine which department documents were classified and which were not. “There’s zero chance that she’ll be charged with unauthorized retention of classified information, because she decides what’s classified,” he said.

Fit that into the conspiracy theory.

Is that actually true? So a SOS could give all of our most valuable intel and secrets to Russia or China and not be convicted of a damn thing because they get to decide what is or isn't classified?

That's some scary shit if true. I wouldn't think that a single person wielded that much power over all of our sensitive and secret information.

Also curious about the claims of 300+ "classified" emails on her server? Is it that she didn't make them classified until after sending the emails that makes it not criminal?

 

[Blackjack200]

Also curious about the claims of 300+ "classified" emails on her server? Is it that she didn't make them classified until after sending the emails that makes it not criminal?

My understanding is that emails that contain classified information are supposed to be marked a certain way, and that the emails they've discovered were unmarked. Whether that's because the people sending them made a mistake, or the information was not yet classified, I don't know.

 

[Darwin333]

According to WaPo:



http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...dd85ec-3aae-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html

If it "could be" compromised (which is future tense not past) then simply taking possession of her server and any backups in existence and putting them on a shelf solves the problem. They could have sent the USPS to do that since it doesn't really matter whats on the server. The threat is over once the server is taken offline and into "custody".

If they are trying to see if anything was leaked/hacked/whatever then it's a different ballgame altogether. I highly doubt that Clinton intended on compromising national security but if she did it's a gamechanger, regardless of criminality, at a really convenient time.

Personally I haven't seen a thing that passes the smell test on either side...

 

[Jhhnn]

Is that actually true? So a SOS could give all of our most valuable intel and secrets to Russia or China and not be convicted of a damn thing because they get to decide what is or isn't classified?

That's some scary shit if true. I wouldn't think that a single person wielded that much power over all of our sensitive and secret information.

Also curious about the claims of 300+ "classified" emails on her server? Is it that she didn't make them classified until after sending the emails that makes it not criminal?

Please. If neither she nor anybody else put anything marked as classified on her server it's well within her discretion as SoS to define it as non-classified information. The fact that it might become classified later is immaterial.

As for revealing State Secrets, it would cross the line into treason at some point.

 

[Blackjack200]

If it "could be" compromised (which is future tense not past) then simply taking possession of her server and any backups in existence and putting them on a shelf solves the problem. They could have sent the USPS to do that since it doesn't really matter whats on the server. The threat is over once the server is taken offline and into "custody".

If they are trying to see if anything was leaked/hacked/whatever then it's a different ballgame altogether. I highly doubt that Clinton intended on compromising national security but if she did it's a gamechanger, regardless of criminality, at a really convenient time.

Personally I haven't seen a thing that passes the smell test on either side...

It's not future or past tense. It's current. They are concerned that they may have been compromised in the past, which would make them compromised now.

 

[ivwshane]

My understanding is that emails that contain classified information are supposed to be marked a certain way, and that the emails they've discovered were unmarked. Whether that's because the people sending them made a mistake, or the information was not yet classified, I don't know.

To put it quite simply; Any classified information belongs to the US government. If there is reason to believe that classified information might be on her servers the federal government has the duty to verify that claim.

When viewed with that lens, Clinton's actions start to make sense. After she did her duty of providing the national archives her work related records it makes sense that the email servers should have been wiped (personally I think they should have been destroyed according to federal standards) to insure that they contained no possibility of housing classified data. When we look at what falls under the label of "classified" we see that communications that involve information that was latter classified is a possibility as is the possibility that people paraphrased classified documents when discussing issues. These conversations would have happened regardless of whether or not clinton used her own server or an official government controlled server and as has been explained already in this thread, would have still been a violation of policy regardless.

What are the consequences of failing to adhere to policies regarding classified information? I do not know.

 

[Jhhnn]

It's not future or past tense. It's current. They are concerned that they may have been compromised in the past, which would make them compromised now.

Please. She deleted what she wanted to delete & transferred the files remaining to a new server probably in an archive. A copy went to her attorney & perhaps elsewhere. The old server was then wiped. The information her detractors are dying to get no longer exists, anywhere, other than as fragments in a plethora of email accounts & archives not under her control. None of that can actually be verified as genuine, either.

For all intents and purposes, that information is gone as if it never existed, just like all the Bush era emails deleted from RNC servers at the time. Deal with it.

 

[Jhhnn]

What are the consequences of failing to adhere to policies regarding classified information? I do not know.

There are none when you define the policy. Or Obama could have fired her, which obviously didn't happen.

 

[PokerGuy]

Only by fools. As SoS, she has the power & the right to classify or not classify information at will. She also had the right to send & store such non-classified information anywhere she damned well pleased, as did her predecessors.

Too simple, obviously.

Actually, there is a formal process for classifying and unclassifying documents. Her saying there isn't classified material on the server doesn't change the classification of the documents. Nice try though.

We still don't know about the legality of her actions, that's up to the doj / fbi etc to figure out. What we do know 100% for certain is that her actions were inappropriate and that classified material was (and is) stored on her server.

 

[Jaskalas]

What we do know 100% for certain is that her actions were inappropriate and that classified material was (and is) stored on her server.

Or more accurately... a bathroom closet in Denver.

 

[PokerGuy]

Or more accurately... a bathroom closet in Denver.

Yep, the story just gets more and more interesting

 

[Angry Irishman]

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Heard on the local news that Senator Grassley is questioning whether Clinton's attorney (David Kendall) had the required security clearance to receive and hold the thumb drives containing email with classified information stored on them.

 

[werepossum]

Or more accurately... a bathroom closet in Denver.

Holy crap! I thought this server was located in her basement, where at least it's physical security was guaranteed by the Secret Service. A bathroom in a Denver loft without even an alarm . . .

Stay tuned for staunch defense of the unmatched security offered by bathroom closets.

Heard on the local news that Senator Grassley is questioning whether Clinton's attorney (David Kendall) had the required security clearance to receive and hold the thumb drives containing email with classified information stored on them.

Obviously he is another victim.

 

[Jaskalas]

Stay tuned for staunch defense of the unmatched security offered by bathroom closets.

I believe they've already argued that the security and classification of documents is solely at the discretion of the secretary. That they cannot violate the law because they... define the law.

I'm curious how that holds up.

 

[cabri]

Or more accurately... a bathroom closet in Denver.

Link

Issue is though when she was SoS, where was the server.

IP tracing indicated it was in a NYC building.

When/while at Platte, was there classified info on it. (post 2013)

ALL hardware related needs to be pulled for forensics analysis of emails and/or documents.

However, this will be all a wasted effort. Obama is not going to allow criminal proceedings to happen IF the FBI finds anything

 

[HumblePie]

For those arguing that Hilary can just state something is classified or not because she was SoS...

LOLOLOLOLLO WUT!?!?!?!?

http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/quist2/chap_7.html

This isn't shit that can be decided on a whim by anyone. There is a set of defining laws and SoP on how classified information is determined to be classified and a classification process. No one can willy nilly state someone is classified or not and make it so. There is a review process and a board for this. Depending on the items being recommended for classification or declassification there are different review members involved. The SoS is part of the review process for some classification recommendations, but not all. And they are part of the processes, not the only process.

http://www.cdse.edu/documents/cdse/oca-desktop-reference.pdf

 

[Pens1566]

For those arguing that Hilary can just state something is classified or not because she was SoS...

LOLOLOLOLLO WUT!?!?!?!?

http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/quist2/chap_7.html

This isn't shit that can be decided on a whim by anyone. There is a set of defining laws and SoP on how classified information is determined to be classified and a classification process. No one can willy nilly state someone is classified or not and make it so. There is a review process and a board for this. Depending on the items being recommended for classification or declassification there are different review members involved. The SoS is part of the review process for some classification recommendations, but not all. And they are part of the processes, not the only process.

http://www.cdse.edu/documents/cdse/oca-desktop-reference.pdf

http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/quist2/chap_11.html

Information can in fact be declassified by the original classification authority, or someone who has been delegated those powers by the president. It would make sense if SecState was one of those individuals.

 

[HumblePie]

http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/quist2/chap_11.html

Information can in fact be declassified by the original classification authority, or someone who has been delegated those powers by the president. It would make sense if SecState was one of those individuals.

They have final approval, but it still goes through a process if you would read the links. SoS is part of the review process, and has final approval, but isn't the sole authority or can willy nilly make things either classified or unclassified by themselves.

 

[werepossum]

I believe they've already argued that the security and classification of documents is solely at the discretion of the secretary. That they cannot violate the law because they... define the law.

I'm curious how that holds up.

Yeah, the far left is insisting on a curious dichotomy here where Hillary declassifies documents to run them through her personal server, then later these documents are classified so that the little people cannot see them. It's odd to find people that determined to give dictatorial powers over themselves.