Stupid question about a stupid Secretary of State.

Vanity

[opbuzz]

her BS story about never sending or receiving anything marked classified could be easily true

There is no marking named "classified", so her story is true but misleading.

[Hawthorn]

>> You could email the Sec — “Are you free for lunch?” and that wouldn’t be classified. <<

Well, I should think that asking the question would be OK on an unsecured circuit.

But on the other hand, if the SECSTATE should answer over the same circuit and give details about her personal schedule, then the info probably should be classified and encrypted, due to the potential for a terrorist, an enemy agent or a plain old-fashioned kidnapper to track and attack her during the lunch hour.

[gandalftb]

State is the most powerful cabinet adviser to the POTUS.

State authors very few sensitive docs. But it is the recipient of docs from our many intelligence agencies:

http://www.intelligence.gov/mission/member-agencies.html

State has its own intel: Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s (INR)

http://www.state.gov/s/inr/

I read foreign newspapers and wrote white papers for them when I was in college, long ago.

The closer you get to the SOS, the more you use phones and meetings for policy ideas. Emails are usually for scheduling and forwarding docs. That’s the problem.

Emails are the most efficient way to move docs and at the SOS level would likely be sensitive to some degree.

Using an unsecured server is an amazingly bad idea. In the least, accidents will happen and secrecy will be compromised. In a continuing conversation of replies, an attached doc stays attached and likely forgotten. Except to be noticed by unvetted eyes.

That is why accidental behavior can be criminal.

Indictments are likely.

[ClearCase_guy]

True enough.

But the original question was: Is everything that is sent to the Secretary of State classified by default?

And the answer is "No, not everything that is sent is classified by default."

[Hawthorn]

>> There is no marking named “classified”, so her story is true but misleading <<

A brilliant point! You may be the first person to make it.

But assuming that Hillary’s agents are reading FR even as I type, maybe we should expect to hear this excuse (minus the “but misleading”) from Lanny Davis and/or David E. Kendall any minute now. Ugh!

[Hawthorn]

>> the answer is “No, not everything that is sent is classified by default.” <<

Couldn’t agree more, as long as the “sent to” language of the original question is retained or at least understood.

On the other hand, anything “sent from” the SECSTATE probably should be classified. Even seemingly “mundane” details about Chelsea’s wedding or Hillary’s yoga lessons could have clues helpful to an adversary’s de-crypt shop.

[Bobby_Taxpayer]

Even on unclassified but sensitive government computers, especially in DOD and State, emails are encrypted as long as they stay within the .mil or state domains. As soon as they leave, it looses all encryption.

[easternsky]

LOL, Trump had a few choice words about him last night, not Fonda of John.

[mosaicwolf]

I believe ALL communication to and from the SECSTATE about official business of the US Government is either classified or sensitive.

[al baby]

Listen fools Hilary was the official so its all ok

[Inspectorette]

Since the battleaxe only had a private server, and never used a government server, how in he** was she able to send and receive classified e-mails, which was part of her job as SoS?

[kagnew]

check out Drudge, Billy boy is harping that it’s the GOP and the Press that is causing poor Hillary all of these horrible unnecessary problems with the e-mails. This always happens to them(Bill and Hillary) except in 2008 for obvious reasons. Excuse me while I lose my supper.