To hear Democrat talk Hillary Clinton’s email scandal is nothing more than a partisan witch hunt. Even her primary rivals were willing to give her a pass. But the FBI, which is part of the Obama administration, doesn’t think it’s a non-issue. Reportedly the FBI’s investigation is focused on the “gross negligence” provision of the Espionage Act that charges officials with the safekeeping of national defense records.
Under 18 USC 793 subsection F, the information does not have to be classified to count as a violation. The intelligence source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the ongoing probe, said the subsection requires the “lawful possession” of national defense information by a security clearance holder who “through gross negligence,” such as the use of an unsecure computer network, permits the material to be removed or abstracted from its proper, secure location.
Subsection F also requires the clearance holder “to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer. “A failure to do so “shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.”
The source said investigators are also focused on possible obstruction of justice. “If someone knows there is an ongoing investigation and takes action to impede an investigation, for example destruction of documents or threatening of witnesses, that could be a separate charge but still remain under a single case,” the source said. Currently, the ongoing investigation is led by the Washington Field Office of the FBI.
I also heard that FBI investigators are ticked off at Obama for downplaying the investigation and making judgment before they’re finished. That’s interesting, because he said she didn’t tell him about her email server, so she could possibly face up to ten years in prison if she’s prosecuted.
Separately, the law’s text makes a criminal of any security clearance holder who fails to notify his or her ‘superior officer’ when a breach of security occurs through such negligence.
‘If investigators conclude that the former secretary [Clinton] was criminally careless in how she approached the security of the sensitive documents in her possession, then this part of the law could be used to prosecute her,’ the agent said, on condition of anonymity.
‘”Gross negligence” just means “serious carelessness”,’ he clarified.
His voice became more deliberate and quiet when DailyMail.com asked him to address the notification clause in what is technically known as ‘18 USC 793.’
‘The secretary’s superior is the President of the United States,’ the FBI agent noted.
‘So unless he were aware of what she was doing when she was doing it, it seems there could be a legal problem [for her].’ (Read More)
But never mind. She’s promising lots of people lots of free stuff so we should just overlook how she carelessly put national security at risk to protect her political career.