When it comes to the improper handling of classified information, the case of Gen. David Petraeus has been the most famous cases of our time, but Ken Cuccinelli in the New York Post states that Hillary Clinton is in "just as bad – or worse – of a legal situation than Petraeus faced."
When Petraeus left the Defense Department and the CIA, instead of turning in his journals after he left the organizations, he kept them in his home – an unsecure location – and also provided them to his biographer Paula Broadwell.
Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia, notes that Petraeus pled guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials under 18 USC §1924 on April 23rd.
Cuccinelli also questions how Petraeus' situation is differs from that of Hillary Clinton's?
According to the law, "(1) Whoever, being an officer, employee, contractor, or consultant of the United States, and, (2) by virtue of his office, employment, position, or contract, becomes possessed of documents or materials containing classified information of the United States, (3) knowingly removes such documents or materials (4) without authority and (5) with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location [shall be guilty of this offense].”
According to Cuccinelli, Clinton knowingly set up her e-mail system to route 100 percent of her e-mails to and through her unsecured server. And, although Clinton states that none of the emails were marked as "classified," Cuccinelli argues that as secretary of state she knew that "the marking is not what makes the material classified; it’s the nature of the information itself."
While it is possible for a private residence to be an “authorized” location, there are specific and severe requirements to achieve such status and Cuccinelli says that there is no known evidence that Clinton received the proper authorization.
The question remains whether Clinton will be charged or not.
"FBI Director James Comey has a long history of ignoring political pressure. So it’s likely that the FBI will recommend prosecution, and then it will be up to President Obama’s Justice Department to decide whether or not to proceed. Stay tuned," Cuccinelli writes.
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