Why Having A Top Secret Security Clearance Is Something That Should Always Be Respected

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checks her phone while sitting next to South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan (R) at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea, November 30, 2011. REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool

Peter Van Buren, Reuters: What everyone with a Top Secret security clearance knows – or should know

In the world of handling America’s secrets, words – classified, secure, retroactive – have special meanings. I held a Top Secret clearance at the State Department for 24 years and was regularly trained in protecting information as part of that privilege. Here is what some of those words mean in the context of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.

The Inspectors General for the State Department and the intelligence community issued a statement saying Clinton’s personal email system contained classified information. This information, they said, “should never have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system.” The same statement voiced concern that a thumb drive held by Clinton’s lawyer also contains this same secret data. Another report claims the U.S. intelligence community is bracing for the possibility that Clinton’s private email account contains multiple instances of classified information, with some data originating at the CIA and NSA.

WNU Editor: This is why the Hillary Clinton case of her private server is so damning .... it shows poor judgement on her part.