Colin Powell Blows Up Republican Email Scandal By Agreeing With Hillary Clinton

[MrWendel]

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/02/04/colin-powell-blows-up-republican-email-scandal-by-agreeing-with-hillary-clinton.html

Former Sec. of State Colin Powell is standing with Hillary Clinton after the State Department retroactively classified some of his emails and is refusing to release them to the public.



Former Sec. of State Colin Powell is standing with Hillary Clinton after the State Department retroactively classified some of his emails and is refusing to release them to the public.

Powell reacted to an NBC News report that the State Department is retroactively classifying his emails by calling for all of his emails to be released.

Powell said, “I wish they would release them, so that a normal, air-breathing mammal would look at them and say, ‘What’s the issue?’ They were unclassified at the time, and they are, in my judgment, still unclassified.”

Clinton campaign manager John Podesta said in a statement, “This announcement about Secretary Powell’s emails shows just how routine it is for government bureaucrats to go overboard when it comes to judging whether information is too sensitive for the public to see. Hillary Clinton agrees with her predecessor that his emails, like hers, are being inappropriately subjected to over-classification. She joins his call for these emails to be released so that the public can view the contents for itself.”

The State Department’s bureaucratic retroactive classification of emails has gone beyond the bounds of common sense. Republicans love to use the reclassification of the emails as circumstantial proof that Clinton must have done something wrong.

Now that the State Department is classifying emails from the Bush administration, Republicans are in a bind. The idea that Clinton did something wrong has been dealt a death blow. Republicans will use their favorite tactic of ignoring the Powell and Rice emails while talking about Clinton, but the idea that Hillary Clinton was illegally leaking classified information has been wounded now that the former Republican administration is also under scrutiny.

The Republican presidential candidates have been using the idea of Hillary Clinton ending up in jail as an applause line, but if Clinton should go to jail for her emails, Colin Powell and Condi Rice should be sharing a cell with her.

Republicans believe that the emails are their best chance of beating Clinton, but the scandal that they are hanging their hat on just went up in smoke.

[NurseJackie]

1. Well, that takes care of that. I'm sure we'll hear no more about the emails.

What do you think about that, Hillary?

[arely staircase]

2. Oh we will.

The right wing 'news' machine never sleeps.

[Got it]

42. I am not right wing

I can see the through the charade of all corporate media, as well a discern between the bias of the left/right paradigm.

This is clearly not a left/right issue. At its core is the astounding level of irresponsibility displayed by people who feel they are above the law and answer to no one.

I don't know what's worse. Those that circumvent honest behavior for their own self interest, or those who casually accept it due to blind allegiance.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

45. If Hilllary goes down he will go down too

and Condi Rice!

[Press Virginia]

65. As well they should

[Jackie Wilson Said]

54. This isnt complicated. The email story is a GOP created story.

"story" as opposed to something that happened, a report was written , maybe a fine paid or a slap on the wrist etc and move on

but "story" because to ruin Hillary something has to be said that isnt what it appears, "story"

[libdem4life]

81. How convenient. Hillary, the victim arises again.

[cali]

3. Hyperbole much? This will only be a ripple.

[MrWendel]

4. I imagine...

that this will only be a little setback for conservatives and those that share this sacred bond...........................

[DesertRat]

5. K&R

[Kip Humphrey]

6. When an unclassified document (e.g., an email) is discovered to contain top secret information,

that unclassified document found to contain top secret information is assigned a new classification, "TOP SECRET".

Therefore, to say,"the State Department retroactively classified some of his emails and is refusing to release them to the public.", is not only correct, it is appropriately and necessarily correct for the State Dept to do. Hillary is being misleading and disingenuous and portraying the State Dept as mean and foolish when in fact they are simply DOING THEIR JOB CORRECTLY.

So, to put it in Hillarian vernacular, "CUT IT OUT"!

To summarize, the truth is:
UNPROTECTED, CLASSIFIED INFORMATION HAS BEEN FOUND ON CLINTON'S PRIVATE EMAIL SERVER; AND (not that it matters at all with respect to Hillary Clinton's case) WAS FOUND ON POWELL'S AND RICE'S PRIVATE EMAIL SERVERS. The unclassified emails found to contain top secret information were immediately and appropriately classified "TOP SECRET". Any questions?

[toothless dragon]

29. who would believe

that "classified" "top secret" really means that...that information is harmful to the US interests if released... many innocuous things have been classified "Top Secret"over the years... I bet there is a whole file on J. Edgar Hoover and is taste in dresses and shoes that was "Top Secret"...

[pnwmom]

41. You don't have a bit of evidence to back up your claim. NO official source,

no one except Republican operatives (who aren't in a position to know) or anonymous leakers, has ever even stated for the record that any of Hillary's emails contained classified info at the time it was first written and sent.

The fact that some are labeled "top secret" now has NOTHING to do with this. A retroactively classified document could be labeled either "secret" or "top secret," depending on how the new evaluator decided to classify it.

[Press Virginia]

60. The IG has said that the e-mails contained TS information

and it was classified as such at the time.

[pnwmom]

67. Link, please. n/t

[Press Virginia]

69. Here

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3413033/Hillary-s-emails-contained-classified-information-HUMAN-SPYING-State-Department-says-won-t-meet-deadline-publish-emails.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016143680#post3

[pnwmom]

70. Thank you. But nowhere in that long article does it say the information

was classified AT THE TIME they were sent and not retroactively.

The DU poster provided lots of verbiage and even a link but none of it showed that any emails were classified AT THE TIME they were sent and not retroactively

[Press Virginia]

71. That's why I included the second link

it has the IG's letter stating the CIA asserts it was classified at the time.
Also the post includes an exchange where the DOS Spox says they do not dispute the CIA declaration

[pnwmom]

72. I read that letter and it does NOT say it was classified at the time.

Can you quote the specific sentence you think says that? And what they don't dispute is the CIA declaration that it be classified NOW.

[Press Virginia]

74. No, classified at the time

QUESTION: Right. So are you challenging sworn declarations from the CIA that they were top secret at the time of transmission?

MR KIRBY: As I said last week, it was at the request of the intelligence community that we specifically upgraded that traffic to top secret.

QUESTION: Okay, so you don’t dispute that.

MR KIRBY: If we had disputed it, we wouldn’t have upgraded it --

QUESTION: Okay.

[pnwmom]

75. They are not challenging the CIA's classification now. But different agencies can make

different decisions on information. And the head of the State Department had the legal authority to make that decision when she made it for her agency. Now the CIA is second-guessing her, which they are allowed to do.

And they're also second guessing the determinations made by Colin Powell and Condeleeza Rice and John Kerry.

The CIA has much tighter standards than the State Department, clearly.

[Press Virginia]

78. That's not what was said in the exchange

The question was specific, AT THE TIME OF TRANSMISSION

[pnwmom]

79. Which of the links had that whole discussion? Because Obama's spokesman

has recently said the opposite.

[Press Virginia]

80. It's right above the portion thats being cited

[pnwmom]

83. That's being cited where? Which link?

[Press Virginia]

85. The one for the SD Daily Press Brief

Here is the entire exchange
http://m.state.gov/md252161.htm#DEPARTMENT

[Fumesucker]

7. This Colin Powell?

[Tarc]

8. The one that was lied to by Rummy, Cheney and the rest of the neocons, yes

Colin Powell discusses the WMD 'blot' on his record

Morell "wanted to apologize" to Powell about WMD evidence

Powell isn't completely innocent in the whole WMD, Curveball mess, but he was marched out with bullshit intel and deceived into selling it to the country.

[Fumesucker]

12. Would you buy a used car from any of them?

[Tarc]

15. Powell isn't a poster child, I agree

But I think we can differentiate between the actual evil neocon leadership and those that got suckered into the ride.

[elias49]

46. I really don't believe Powell was 'suckered into it".

He knew he was lying. He wasn't deceived, he was directed.

[swilton]

14. His thick resume of having served in the military should have

given him the judgement to have known better.

He has lost all credibility.

[6chars]

27. that is so long ago it is nearly lost to history

but i remember when he gave the un speech. we all knew what the deal was then and so did he, no matter what he says no to backwalk it.

[SummerSnow]

13. Yes, that guy who scammed America. Well some of them.

[Justice]

18. Funny, people were all too happy to have Powell endorse Obama in 2008

[elias49]

47. "People". Yeah. Pretty weak.

[FiveGoodMen]

24. Yup. First thing I thought of.

Anyone who still believes him is a total idiot.

[malthaussen]

9. Should be a no-brainer.

Retroactively classifying materials is as idiotic as making a law retroactively apply. And that is explicitly forbidden by the Constitution. If State thinks the materials are now sensitive, then fine, all future Secretaries should be held to that standard. It is absurd to think it could apply to Secretaries who served before the classification.

-- Mal

[Laser102]

44. Well said. Looks like the State Dept. and other agencies are trying to cover their own backsides.

[VulgarPoet]

10. Well hey, if Powell, Rice, AND Clinton are getting away with mishandling classified information

then why are Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden not being handed pardons?

[SunSeeker]

17. Manning and Snowden STOLE info marked classified and released it to the public.

That was no mere "mishandling."

[VulgarPoet]

19. I see no real difference between what Manning and Snowden did

and what Clinton did at the very least. On one hand, you had a release of classified info to journalists, none of which had anything to do with military capability in terms of weapons and armaments; just the fucked up shit we did under the watch of Bush and the Third Way collaborators in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On one hand, you have TS/SAP classified information, whether retroactively classified or not-- though I'm personally of the opinion that if it wasn't marked classified, it was specifically so Hillary could play her coy little shell game-- put on a server that was not airgapped, was connected to the internet, and had no counter-intrusion measures put on it. Which for all we know, could be in the hands of Iranian cyber-espionage teams, Russian cyber-espionage teams, or Chinese cyber-espionage teams.

There is no functional difference other than one caused damage to America's reputation-- not that we have much of one to speak of anymore anyway-- and one could cause irreparable harm to America's military-- which we have too much of.

Either way, it's still under regulations, "mishandling" unless there was a court-martial involved.

[stevenleser]

20. Because you can't see something the rest of us should ignore what we do see? Doesnt work that way.nt

[elias49]

48. I can't 'see' what you see Steve. Same thing, no?

[SunSeeker]

22. There was no info marked TS/SAP or classified on Hillary's server.

You are just repeating right wing talking points.

[Press Virginia]

28. Not all classified information is marked. Her NDA makes her responsible

for the protection of classified information whether it's marked or not. Gen Petraeus' "black book" wasn't marked classified but it was

According to reports she had extremely sensitive information on her server, including e-mail exchanges with the President on policy issues, which at the very least are confidential and thus classified upon creation

[SunSeeker]

31. OFFS, Petraeus knowingly gave the most sensitive military intelligence to his mistress.

Petraeus pleaded guilty last year to giving Broadwell eight notebooks he compiled while serving as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and that he knew contained classified information. The notebooks held some of the most sensitive kinds of military and intelligence secrets, including the identities of covert officers, intelligence capabilities, quotes from high-level meetings of the National Security Council, and notes about Petraeus’s discussions with President Obama.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/18/exclusive-pentagon-may-demote-david-petraeus.html

Hillary did nothing like that.

Hillary did not even send the 22 emails the GOP (and some Sanders supporters) were hyperventilating about. They were all unmarked and sent to her, not the other way around. She did not knowingly disclose any classified information.

[Press Virginia]

32. TS information is TS even if it's not marked

The Petreaus book is an example of unmarked TS information.

The information was stored on a nonsecured server. She had a responsibility to make the FBI aware when she received it.
Furthermore, her exchanges with President Obama were, at the very least, confidential at the time of the exchange.

[SunSeeker]

33. There is no evidence her server was hacked, unlike the State Dept's.

She did not knowingly disclose any top secret information, nor was any such information hacked off her server.

[Press Virginia]

35. That's actually not relevant. The retention and storage of classified information

in a non secured environment is a big, big no no.
People get prosecuted for doing this.

[SunSeeker]

36. ALL 22 emails were also already sitting on the unclassified State Dept.email system. nt

[Press Virginia]

37. If that were true, they wouldn't be TS/SCI and would be released to the public

as part of the FOIA releases.

[SunSeeker]

38. The State Department didn't declare them that, another agency did.

As part of that FOIA production process, the State Department had to let about a dozen other agencies, including various intelligence agencies, review the documents and agree they could be released to the public--or assert various classifications precluding them from release. This appears to be overclassification run amok. One of the emails was apparently forwarding a widely-seen newspaper article, but because the article mentioned the drone program, it was marked classified for purposes of the FOIA production by one of those reviewing intelligence agencies.

Since the State Department is under time pressure from a court order in a lawsuit filed to enforce that FOIA request, they are agreeing to the label for purposes of the FOIA response so they can get the production complete.

[Press Virginia]

40. But you said the State Department had the information

on its unsecured system. Are we to believe DOS couldn't ID state secrets or didn't check with agency where the information originated?

Do you have a link?

[SunSeeker]

49. Here's a link:

As State Department spokesman John Kirby said:

"These documents were not marked classified at the time they were sent," Kirby told a news briefing, explaining that the emails had been reviewed prior to public release and found to contain top secret information.

"The documents are being upgraded at the request" of US intelligence agencies.

http://m.france24.com/en/20160130-hillary-clinton-emails-declared-top-secret-iowa

[Press Virginia]

55. That doesn't say they were unclassified at the time they were sent

It's classified whether it has markings or not.

[SunSeeker]

56. They weren't. That's why Hillary is calling for all of them to be released.

The State Department would have released them but for the ridiculous overclassification by one of the intelligence agencies reviewing the FOIA production.

[Press Virginia]

57. The E-mails in question contained TS/SCI information

It's not over classification or even retro classification.
Her NDA made it clear that it didn't matter if it was marked or not.

[SunSeeker]

63. No they don't. You have demonstrated in this thread you don't know the facts nor law.

As I said below, you have wasted enough of my time. Buh bye.

[Press Virginia]

64. Both the WH and the DOS have confirmed the 22 e-mails contained TS information

somebody will face criminal charges

[Fawke Em]

11. This is all well and good, but it's not what the FBI is investigating.

They're investigating whether the server was compromised and, if it was, what information could the hacker access. Hillary, herself, said last night it is a "security review."

[Press Virginia]

30. They're also looking into how classified information ended up on her server

Specifically information that was on the SD's classified system

[SunSeeker]

50. That contradicts everything the agencies have said. Got a link? nt

[Press Virginia]

58. Actually it doesn't. The FBI does criminal investigations

they are involved because somebody broke the law by forwarding and storing classified information on a nonsecure server.

[SunSeeker]

59. Figures. You have no link, just more bullshit right wing talking points.

It is obvious further discussion with you is a waste of time.

I don't come to DU to read right wing propaganda. You have wasted enough of my time. Buh bye.

[Press Virginia]

61. There will be criminal charges against somebody

based on this investigation.

[Fawke Em]

73. Do you think the FBI has to tell a reporter what they're doing?

It's just that some of us know both cyber security and how the FBI works and aren't blind.

[Press Virginia]

86. I can only imagine the shock when some people find out

That the FBI doesn't need 150 people, to figure out if a single server was or was not breached.

[Press Virginia]

90. Did you see the news today? The FBI says it's not involved in a security review

[SunSeeker]

91. Old news. Judicial Watch filed that letter in its lawsuit today for political effect.

The letter merely states what everyone already knew. I am sure the right wing nut jobs at judicial Watch are delighted that their little stunt worked to gin up the story again by the media and some Bernie followers.

The FBI is not doing a criminal investigation.

[Press Virginia]

92. What "law enforcement efforts" could he be talking about if it's only a security review?

Thus … we remain unable [to] provide [details about the case] without adversely affecting on-going law enforcement efforts,” he concluded.

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/268688-fbi-confirms-probe-clinton-probe-is-ongoing

[SunSeeker]

16. Yes indeed. Hillary brought this up last night. nt

[Helen Borg]

21. Powell too has blood on his hands...

[m-lekktor]

23. "The Republican email scandal" please.

Yeah she is in good company with Colin Powell , I am not surprised you Hillary folk think that is a GOOD thing!

[nichomachus]

25. Colin Powell -- serial liar and war criminal

He began his career by covering up the My Lai Massacre and ended his career by facilitating the war crimes in Iraq.

Hey, Hillary, tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you what you are.

[Merryland]

51. don't forget her friend Kissinger

whose approval she is so proud of...

[Iliyah]

26. Well under the bus with you Mr. Powell

No worries tho, RW and LW will make up something else.

[m-lekktor]

39. wow. you are a Powell fan? you must like Bush and Cheney, too, then!

[2pooped2pop]

34. All three in jail sounds fine to me

[Got it]

43. I couldn't agree more. Eom

[Mike Nelson]

52. People who hate Hillary won't care one iota...

...but Powell and Rice have emails much more enlightening, I'm sure!

[thereismore]

53. It's a small club and we ain't it in. I am not sure this has any bearing on

the actual FBI investigation. We should heed Bernie's advice and not talk about it incessantly until that investigation is done.

[winter is coming]

62. I'm sure the FBI will drop their investigation, post-haste.

[LW1977]

66. K&R

[DCBob]

68. Of course it was a faux scandal from the beginning... much ado about nothing.

What's a shame is that the Bernie supporters have jumped on it along with the RW loons.

[orpupilofnature57]

76. Not the first time they were in Concert .

[bunnies]

77. She did what Powell did and this is a good thing?

WOW.

[Chakab]

82. This means nothing. He has no credibility whatsoever with the Right after endorsing Obama.

[redstateblues]

84. Sanders supporters, like the RW, breathlessly

hoping for some new shred of evidence so they can have new material with which to bash Hillary. BSS desperately hoping for more made up scandals to divert voters attention from Bernie's promise to raise taxes. Amazing how much BSS have in common with the RW.

[MrWendel]

89. More or less...

the amount of time wasted having viewing parties for the Benghazi (much like a Super Bowl party) hearing only to leave empty handed.

[JackRiddler]

87. Republicans will not beat Clinton.

Since they will not be running against her.

[JackRiddler]

88. By the way, I hate it when reports don't attribute pictures...

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (R) jokes with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during an unveiling ceremony for his official State Department portrait in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department December 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. Powell served as Secretary of State from 2001-2005 under former U.S. President George W. Bush.

www.zimbio.com/pictures/Yz1z8pY3nb4/Hillary+Clinton+Unveils+State+Dep+t+Portrait/zaiPt0IW-IJ/Hillary+Clinton