I’m watching various guests and pundits on CNN discuss this latest episode related to Ms. Clinton’s emails, and it highlights precisely one issue that I’ve never understood and don’t hear people discuss.
The State Department has two email systems: a classified system and an unclassified system. Ms. Clinton used an unclassified private system for emails that would otherwise have been on her unclassified state department system. So, if classified emails existed it would be wrong whether it was on either email address — the unclassified state department email address or the unclassified private email address. Stated another way, HRC using a private email address didn't cause this potential problem, and if she had used the state department email address it would not have prevented the problem. Her choice of email, in this classification sense, is entirely irrelevant.
This latest Abedin/Weiner laptop development is a perfect example. Why would it matter if emails from this laptop were sent to or from HRC’s private email? If classified information were sent from this lap top, it would have been equally wrong if Ms. Clinton was using a private unsecured email or the state department unsecured email. The issue is entirely disconnected from Ms. Clinton’s decision to use a private server, no?
Maybe I am missing something? As a favor, please don't generically comment that the whole email issue is no problem. I’m asking why this specific issue doesn't seem to get any traction or attention.
Maybe to be clearer: I have criticized Ms. Clinton for the entire arrangement to take emails out of the state department’s control and the subsequent decision to try to permanently erase the emails she chose not to disclose. But that is the whole arrangement . . . we have known it roughly from day one. What I don't get is why we keep looking to see if there were classified emails improperly sent on this private server when those same emails would have been equally improper on the government server that they wanted her to use.