FOIA and deleted e-mails

I’m no expert on the laws surrounding top-secret e-mails. I don’t know how or when it is determined a document/ e-mail/ other information is top-secret. I imagine there are as many different ways as there are documents. Nor do I know anything about the laws/ rules for an elected official using an unsecured personal server to the exclusion of the secure government assigned e-mail and network storage.

What I believe is that the job of Secretary of State, or any other elected official, would have specific rules to follow about having government documents and information on personal computers/ laptops/ cell phones/ servers. I believe this because I have worked for a state funded university. There are specific rules for what can and can’t be done. Such as, one can’t download documents to personal devices that include student information protected by FERPA. This would lead one to believe that there are rules about having government documents, especially documents with sensitive information, on personal devices. The argument about the legality of using a personal server is mired in debate and contradictions.

According to the U.S. Department of State, unless the information falls within nine exemptions or three exclusions all information, including e-mails generated by federal agencies, is available for the public to access/ request. This actually includes personal e-mails that sent using work e-mail address. See list of exemptions on the U.S. Department of State Freedom of Information Act webpage.

The news is reporting that there are e-mails from Mrs. Clinton’s personal server that have been deemed classified/ top-secret/ or even more secret than top-secret. The determination of when a document is labeled classified is nebulous at best. One would think that all documents from the State Department would be classified until reviewed, but that is left up to the opinion of the sender.

Computer experts report the assumption that Mrs. Clinton’s personal server has been hacked. I agree with that assessment. Enemies of the U.S., finding that a high-ranking official who handles sensitive material is using an unsecured server, would not hesitate to extract information from that source.

When Mrs. Clinton and her staff were asked to turn over e-mails during the Benghazi investigation, they instead deleted thousands. The e-mails were not their property. Information and documentation created by government agencies belong to the public, even if classified and the public can’t have access to them yet. This is theft and destruction of property.

According to the news, the investigations and questions mostly revolve around the “top-secret” unsecured e-mails. Often the fact that Mrs. Clinton illegally deleted documents that didn’t belong to her gets lost. The investigation has been going a long time, and while there appears to be plenty of evidence to charge Mrs. Clinton, she’s not charged. In fact, the possibility that she won’t be charged is very high.

One of the reasons our country is devolving into a land of violence and oppression is that our laws are not aggressively upheld. When we don’t uphold the law and vigorously prosecute the lawbreakers, those who are of that inclination tend to follow the example set before them and often get away with breaking the laws. Our president has the responsibility to lead the charge in the enforcement of the law, the prosecution of the lawbreakers, and punishment of those found guilt. We have had a string of presidents who have abdicated their authority. Mrs. Clinton, already proving she is a lawbreaker, is unfit to be president.

There is no doubt of her duplicitous actions. She admits to them and tries to excuse them by pointing fingers at others. If not charged and prosecuted, if she does indeed become president, the whole country, nay, the whole world should weep. We, the United States of America, will have finally completed the transformation to a country like any other country run, by a despot.

Link to the full text of the Freedom of Information Act: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014/07/23/amended-foia-redlined-2010.pdf

FOIA Webpage link: http://www.foia.gov/

~ by jameylynn on March 19, 2016.