Clinton staffers, FBI attempted to collude over emails

WASHINGTON—Newly released FBI documents show a senior State Department official attempted a give-and-take with an FBI agent to downgrade the classification of an email from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private server.

This morning the bureau released an additional 100 pages of interview summaries and notes from its investigation of Clinton’s email practices as secretary of state. The new documents include an unnamed FBI agent’s claim that State Department Undersecretary for Management Patrick Kennedy pressured the FBI to declassify a Clinton email related to Benghazi in exchange for favors.

The documents purport Kennedy suggested to the unidentified FBI agent a quid pro quo to change a Benghazi-related email from “secret” to unclassified.

“[Redacted] indicated he had been contacted by Patrick Kennedy, undersecretary of state, who had asked his assistance in altering the email’s classification in exchange for a ‘quid pro quo,’” the interview summary states. “[Redacted] advised that in exchange for marking the email unclassified, State would reciprocate by allowing the FBI to place more agents in countries where they are presently forbidden.”

The interview summaries suggest the FBI official, not Kennedy, asked for more agents in forbidden countries in return.

“State has an agenda which involves minimizing the classified nature of the Clinton emails in order to protect State interests and those of Clinton,” the official said.

In July, FBI Director James Comey said after conducting a yearlong investigation into Clinton’s email use he concluded her actions were extremely careless but not bad enough for criminal charges.

The FBI found 110 emails containing classified information in Clinton’s private, unsecured server; eight contained top-secret information. Clinton has said using the private server was a mistake, but her surrogates have tried to mitigate the fallout by arguing government officials over-aggressively classify documents retroactively.

Investigators started reviewing as many of Clinton’s emails as they could in 2015. The newly released documents show Kennedy, who worked under Clinton during her tenure at the State Department, wanted fewer of her emails marked classified.

State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said the exchange never occurred and the email in question never changed classifications.

“This allegation is inaccurate and does not align with the facts,” Toner said. He explained Kennedy sought to understand the FBI’s process for withholding certain information from public release. “Classification is an art, not a science, and individuals with classification authority sometimes have different views.”

The FBI also defended its actions in a statement today.

“The classification of the email was not changed, and it remains classified today,” the FBI said. “Although there was never a quid pro quo, these allegations were nonetheless referred to the appropriate officials for review."

When GOP lawmakers learned the FBI would not recommend a criminal investigation against Clinton, several explored different avenues to respond to the conduct of the Democratic nominee for president.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., wrote a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in July asking he revoke Clinton’s security clearance. Today Ryan said the new information in the documents reinforces the case to take away her access to sensitive information.

“These documents further demonstrate Secretary Clinton’s complete disregard for properly handling classified information,” Ryan said in a statement. “This is exactly why I called on DNI Clapper to deny her access to classified information.”

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., called Kennedy’s actions reckless. The two sent letters today to Secretary of State John Kerry and Inspector General Steve Linick requesting they fire Kennedy and open an investigation into his misconduct.

“We find Undersecretary Kennedy’s actions extremely disturbing,” the chairmen wrote. “Those who receive classified intelligence should not barter in it—that is reckless behavior with our nation’s secrets.”