CHR - Signal Gate: Legacy Media's Collective Amnesia About Hillary Clinton's Years-Long Mishandling of Classified Information

TOP LINE

Legacy media’s convenient, collective amnesia about the former Secretary of State’s mishandling of national defense and classified information is a double standard. I believe the lack of context compounds the public’s distrust of mainstream media.

DEEP DIVE

The mishandling of national defense information is a serious foul regardless of party and politics. 

18 USC 793 makes it a federal crime for “gathering, transmitting or losing” national defense information.  There is no requirement that the intelligence is classified.  The statute’s gross negligence standard means there is no requirement to show intent. Sloppiness is sufficient to charge and secure a conviction.

18 USC 1924 also makes the “unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material” a federal crime.

But in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's case, then FBI Director James Comey insisted in July 2016 that evidence of intent was required to bring criminal charges.

“Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case,” Comey explained. “Prosecutors necessarily weigh a number of factors before bringing charges. There are obvious considerations, like the strength of the evidence, especially regarding intent.”

This week, when Mrs. Clinton weighed in on “Signal Gate,”  I was struck by the lack of context in media coverage.  Legacy media’s convenient, collective amnesia about the former Secretary of State’s mishandling of national defense and classified information is a double standard. I believe the lack of context compounds the public’s distrust of legacy outlets.

In January 2016, I was the first reporter to obtain a letter from the intelligence community Inspector General that found “several dozen” classified emails, including intelligence known as “special access programs” or SAP were found on Clinton’s unsecured server.   Special access programs are highly restricted because the sources which can include human spying, are fragile. 

When I searched for the original 2016 report, I found the Inspector General’s letter hard to find, and in some cases, links were “unavailable.” I concluded the letter, which laid bare Clinton’s mishandling of national defense intelligence, may have struck a nerve. I am posting the letter here and on X.

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