Hillary Clinton's Email Memo: A Closer Look

Joe Scarborough's claim that Hillary Clinton sent a memo to all State Department staff telling them not to use personal email for official business has been widely debated. A closer look at the memo reveals that while Clinton's name was at the bottom, she did not directly write or send it. The memo was a routine communication, or cable, that went out to diplomatic and consular staff worldwide in response to a warning from Google about hackers targeting Gmail addresses. The memo advised employees to check the security settings and change their passwords, and to avoid conducting official Department business from their personal email accounts.

Key Takeaways:

• The memo in question was a routine cable sent to diplomatic and consular staff worldwide on June 28, 2011, regarding a warning from Google about hackers targeting Gmail addresses.
• The memo advised employees to check the security settings and change their passwords, and to avoid conducting official Department business from their personal email accounts.
• The memo did not strictly prohibit the use of personal email accounts for official business, but rather encouraged employees to avoid using them.
• Clinton's name was at the bottom of the memo, as was practice for cables coming from Washington, but she did not directly write or send the memo.
• Joseph Scarborough and Steven Aftergood both pointed out that the memo's language was stronger in some areas than Clinton's statement, with the memo saying that auto-forwarding Department email to personal email accounts was prohibited by department policy.
• Scarborough's statement that Clinton sent the memo "to every employee at the State Department" was not entirely accurate, as the memo was sent to diplomatic and consular staff worldwide.

Statistics:

• Over 55,000 pages of emails and documents have been turned over by Clinton's office to the State Department for review and release.
• The State Department's policy on using email for sensitive but unclassified information requires that email be sent through a server that meets department standards.
• The New York Times reported in March 2015 that Clinton used a personal email account for official business while serving as Secretary of State.

Sources:

• MSNBC, Morning Joe, March 9, 2015
• New York Times, Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email Account at State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules, March 2, 2015
• Fox News, Document: State Department memo - Securing personal email accounts, June 28, 2011
• Fox News, Clinton Internal Cable Forbids Use Personal Accounts, March 5, 2015
• Wall Street Journal, Hillary Clinton's Custom Email Based on Server Near Her Home, March 5, 2015
• Politico, Clinton private email violated 'clear-cut' State Dept. rules, March 5, 2015
• U.S. State Department, Daily briefing, March 6, 2015
• U.S. State Department, Foreign Affairs Manual
• Wall Street Journal, Clinton's Private Email Account at Odds With State Department Policy, March 5, 2015
• Washington Post, Hillary Clinton's e-mails: a timeline of actions and regulations, March 10, 2015
• Email interview, Alex Korson, executive producer, Morning Joe, MSNBC, March 9, 2015
• Email interview, Steven Aftergood, director, Project on Government Secrecy, Federation of American Scientists, March 10, 2015