Justice Department States Clinton Had Legal Authority To Delete Personal Emails From Her Private Server

DOJ: “Former Secretary Clinton Had Authority To Delete Personal Emails Without Agency Supervision.” The Associated Press reported on September 12 that lawyers from the DOJ told a federal court that “Clinton had the right to delete personal emails and that those messages are not subject to the public records law:”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had the right to delete personal emails from her private server, the Justice Department told a federal court.

Lawyers for the government made the assertion in a filing this week with the U.S. District Court in Washington, part of a public records lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group that seeks access to Clinton's emails.

[...]

She has said that she sent and received about 60,000 emails during her four years in the Obama administration, about half of which were personal and deleted. The others were turned over to the State Department.

The FBI has been investigating the security of Clinton's email setup, which she said she used as a matter of convenience. She has since acknowledged that her use of a private email server to conduct government business was a mistake and apologized this week.

Clinton asserts that she had the right under government rules to decide which emails were private and to delete them. This week's filing puts the Justice Department's approval on Clinton's claim.

“There is no question that former Secretary Clinton had authority to delete personal emails without agency supervision -- she appropriately could have done so even if she were working on a government server,” attorneys from the Justice Department's civil division wrote. [Associated Press, 9/12/15]

Meet The Press Reports On DOJ Statement About The Legality Of Clinton Deleting Personal Emails

NBC's Chuck Todd: “The Justice Department Said That [Hillary Clinton] Did Have The Authority To Delete Emails From Her Personal Email Account.” On the September 13 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd opened a segment by stating that “Hillary Clinton finally got some good news on the email front,” before reporting the latest update from the DOJ clearing Clinton of wrongdoing regarding the deletion of personal emails:

CHUCK TODD: Hillary Clinton finally got some good news on the email front this week. On Friday, the Justice Department said that she did have the authority to delete emails from her personal email account that she did not believe were government records. [NBC, Meet the Press, 9/13/15]

Other Sunday Shows Ignore DOJ's Statement During Coverage Of Clinton's Personal Emails

Fox's Media Buzz: “It Took Hillary Clinton A Long Time To Move From Dismissing The Email Fiasco To Finally Apologizing.” On the September 13 edition of Fox News' Media Buzz, host Howard Kurtz said nothing of the DOJ statement that Clinton acted within her authority by deleting her personal emails. Kurtz, however, did mention an FBI investigation into the security of her email system while arguing that it gave urgency for Clinton's apology. Panel members Steve Hayes, Dana Milbank and Sharyl Attkisson also ignored the latest news from the DOJ. [Fox News, Media Buzz, 9/13/15]

George Will On Fox News Sunday: Clinton “Didn't Apologize For Anything Really.” On the September 13 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace and his panel -- including Fox New contributors George Will, Brit Hume, Juan Williams, and the AP's Julie Pace - omitted the DOJ's testimony from their discussion about the email controversy. Will mentioned the FBI investigation, but never addressed the DOJ's statement that Clinton acted within accordance of the law when deleting her personal emails. [Fox Broadcasting Co., Fox News Sunday, 9/13/15]

CBS' Face The Nation: Clinton Tried To “Reverse [Her] Direction” In The 2016 Race By Apologizing. On the September 13 edition of CBS' Face the Nation, host John Dickerson and the show's panel -- featuring John Heilemann, Gwen Ifill, Peggy Noonan, and Peter Baker -- did not mention the DOJ statement regarding Clinton's email use. Dickerson brought up the email controversy in relation to Clinton's poll numbers, but failed to mention the latest developments out of the DOJ regarding the emails. [CBS, Face the Nation, 9/13/15]

ABC's This Week: “That Email Problem Is Not Going Away.” The September 13 edition of ABC's This Week overlooked the latest DOJ statement on Clinton's deletion of personal emails during a segment that discussed Clinton's email use. Host Martha Raddatz instead focused on the Clinton's apology over email use, the Clinton campaign's attempt to show a “spontaneous” and “softer” side, and Clinton dancing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Raddatz claimed, without citing the recent DOJ statement, that Clinton's “email problem is not going away either.” [ABC, This Week, 9/13/15]