State Department inspector says Clinton breached e-mail security rules

(credit: Lorie Shaull)

The Republican Party and Donald Trump just got some fresh campaign fodder: a State Department inspector general report released Wednesday concludes that Hillary Clinton sidestepped security by running a private e-mail server when she was Secretary of State.

The 83-page report by Inspector General Steve Linick noted that the Office of the Secretary has had "longstanding, systemic weaknesses related to electronic records." What's more, the report (PDF) concludes the office hasn't addressed these issues fast enough.

"The Department generally and the Office of the Secretary in particular have been slow to recognize and to manage effectively the legal requirements and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic data communications, particularly as those risks pertain to its most senior leadership," the report states. In particular, the document says Clinton did not request permission to create her private server and she would have been denied because of "security risks." Using private e-mail to conduct public business was "not an appropriate" move, the report added.

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