The House Select Committee on Benghazi is preparing to send out subpoenas in order to have a more thorough look into former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s personal emails – which she used almost exclusively to conduct official business as the government’s top diplomat.
They are asking to see all emails relating to the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, from the Clintonemail.com accounts.
Washingtonpost.com reports:
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The subpoenas are expected to go out to the State Department later Wednesday. The move escalates the panel’s conflict with Clinton and could complicate her expected run for president.
Numerous federal records and legal experts have questioned Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail for government business and whether it violated the Federal Records Act. Her practice was first reported by the New York Times on Monday.
Committee staff learned of the Clintonemail.com domain name in reviewing records they obtained this summer, according to one person familiar with deliberations. Staffers later discovered evidence suggesting that “at least a small group of Clinton staffers” was using personal e-mails to conduct government work and correspond with the secretary, the person said.
The White House on Tuesday said Clinton appeared to have operated in violation of “very specific guidance” from the West Wing that members of the Obama administration use government e-mail accounts to carry out official business.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said it would also look into what its chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), said was a frequent violation of the law. Chaffetz said his inquiry would look at whether Clinton viewed classified or sensitive material on a personal account.
“Do you really believe that the secretary of state never reviewed classified information on her e-mail?” Chaffetz said.
A State Department spokeswoman said this week there was no indication Clinton used her private e-mail for classified information.
