Donald Trump: Hillary Clinton's private email use was 'criminal'

Donald Trump on Sunday pitched into the ongoing furore over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state, saying: “The fact is, what she has done is criminal.”

Investigators this week asked the Justice Department to look into a “potential compromise of classified information” surrounding the private email server, a department official said on Friday. The official said the referral did not relate to possible criminal wrongdoing, despite saying earlier on Friday that it did.

On Saturday, in Iowa, Clinton told reporters she never knowingly sent or received classified information using her private server and did not know what messages were being cited by investigators.

Appearing on CNN on Sunday to discuss a new poll of GOP voters which showed him leading the 16-strong Republican field – on 18% to 15% for Jeb Bush and 10% for Scott Walker – Trump said “I haven’t focused on Hillary”, though he added that he had made “some very strong statements” about her at an Iowa rally of his own on Saturday.

“The fact is that what she’s done is criminal,” he said. “I don’t see how she can run. Because if the prosecutors – who are all Democrats by the way, and that’s part of the problem with fairness here, they’re protecting her – but if you had an impartial prosecutor and they were honorable – maybe they are, we’re going to find out – but what she’s done is criminal.”

Let me tell you a little short story about how major this criminal act is. Over my many years in government I may have received two citations for violating a national security rule. Both consisted of leaving a Red Cover file ‘unattended’ on my personal office desk when I left to attend a couple hour meeting. Internal Security would periodically check offices for unattended classified material. Such indiscretion was a violation because if I left the office, even momentarily, I was to secure the document in my office safe. This was true even though the entire building was secured and all employees had building passes. I never lost my job or position over it, but I had to attend a security re-briefing on the proper handling of classified information.

One other true story that comes to mind. I personally knew a high ranking regional official in my agency who left his briefcase in the men's room at the Dallas International airport. The case had international highly classified info in it. A subsequent investigation determined that almost immediately he must have realized what he had done, went back in the restroom and the case was gone. He then panicked, went into one of the stalls and blew his brains out with his service weapon. The investigation determined that someone had found the case and turned it in to airport security. None of the material in the case appeared to have been disturbed. Losing/mishandling classified info is serious business.

“Clinton told reporters she never knowingly sent or received classified information using her private server and did...

The word “SECRET” on the top of the memos did not tip off the smartest women in the world that these memos were classified.”

That level isn’t required. Anyone who receives even a non-secret level email which has information which can be reasonably determined to be classified is to delete the email immediately, then pick up the phone and call the appropriate team. (I was surprised about the delete, but I guess they didn’t want it hanging around to more easily be hacked or read)

Hubs just filled me in on the policy. If one doesn’t do the above, the employee would likely STILL end up in hot water.

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