Politico Leaves Out Any Mention Of Relevant Law In Clinton Email Story
Written by Lis Power
Published
Politico reported on Hillary Clinton's statement to the Des Moines Register editorial board that she would not use a private email account if she became president. But Politico failed to note that not only was her use of a private email account as a cabinet secretary allowed, her statement to the Register was an unremarkable confirmation of presidential record-keeping requirements -- presidents generally cannot use private email accounts.
Clinton Meets With Des Moines Register Editorial Board, Says She Wouldn't Use “Private Email Server” As President
Des Moines Register: Clinton Speaks On White House Transparency. During a September 22 meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board, Clinton addressed a question on what kind of transparency she would have in the White House, responding, “You can count on me not to have a private email server.” [Des Moines Register, 9/22/15]
Politico Reported On Clinton's Statement ...
You can count on Hillary Clinton not use a private email server if she's president.
Clinton, speaking at a Des Moines Register editorial board meeting Tuesday, said that although she did it solely out of convenience, she won't do it again.
Asked if she would have a transparent White House, Clinton responded, “You can count on me not to have a private email server.” [Politico, 9/22/15]
... But Failed To Mention The Relevant Legal Standards On Presidential Email Use
Officers And Employees Of The Executive Branch Are Generally Forbidden From Using Personal Email. In 2014, amendments to the Presidential and Federal Records Act signed into law by President Obama “forbid[] officers and employees of the executive branch from using personal email accounts for government business”:
Also of importance, HR 1233 “forbids officers and employees of the executive branch from using personal email accounts for government business, unless the employee copies all emails to either the originating officer or employee's official government email, or to an official government record system to be recorded and archived.” [The National Security Archive, 12/9/14]
Presidential And Federal Records Act Amendments Of 2014 Prevents The President From Use Of “Non-Official Electronic Messaging Account.” The Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 makes clear that the President and immediate staff can not use non-official email accounts unless records are forwarded to an official email address within five days:
The 113th Congress (2013-2014), for example, passed H.R. 1233, and the President signed into law, P.L. 113-187, the Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014, which codifies the length of time an incumbent or applicable former President has to review records and decide whether to challenge release to the public. P.L. 113-187 also prevents the President and his immediate staff from use of a “non-official electronic messaging account” to create federal records, unless that record is forwarded to an “official” email address within five days. The law, however, does not define “non-official electronic messaging account,” nor does the PRA. [Congressional Research Service, 12/31/14]
Clinton's Private Email Use As A Cabinet Secretary Was Permitted By Different Legal Standards
NYT: Agencies Were Not Required To Preserve Private Account Emails Rapidly Until After Clinton Left Office. In a March 13 article, The New York Times explained that “although the White House has strict requirements dating back two decades that every email must be saved, there is no such requirement for federal agencies.” In fact, while Clinton was at the State Department, regulations only required private account emails “at some point to be provided to the government,” without requiring them to be preserved in real time:
While many agencies' current practice is to print and file emails deemed worthy of saving, an Obama administration directive in 2012 mandates that agencies must devise a system for retaining and preserving email records electronically by the end of 2016.
Mr. Obama signed legislation late last year requiring government officials who use personal email addresses for official business to bring those records into the government within 20 days. Before that, the National Archives and Records Administration simply required those messages at some point to be provided to the government.
“The wiggle room for Mrs. Clinton is that those policies didn't come into play until after she was gone” from the State Department in early 2013, said Thomas S. Blanton, the director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University, an independent, nongovernmental organization focused on transparency. [The New York Times, 3/13/15, via Media Matters]