State Department identifies 23 violations, 'multiple security incidents' concerning Clinton emails

The State Department revealed Monday that it has identified "multiple security incidents" involving current or former employees' handling of Hillary Clinton's emails, and that 23 "violations" and seven "infractions" have been issued as part of the department's ongoing investigation.

The information came in a letter to Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is responsible for overseeing the security review.


"To this point, the Department has assessed culpability to 15 individuals, some of whom were culpable in multiple security incidents," Mary Elizabeth Taylor, the State Department's Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, wrote to Grassley. "DS has issued 23 violations and 7 infractions incidents. ... This number will likely change as the review progresses."

The State Department, calling the matter "serious," said it expected to conclude the investigation by Sept. 1. The department acknowledged that the probe was unusually time-consuming.

"Given the volume of emails provided to the Department from former Secretary Clinton's private email server, the Department's process has been necessarily more complicated and complex requiring a significant dedication of time and resources," Taylor wrote.

Taylor also noted that disciplinary consequences were pending.


"In every instance in which the Department found an individual to be culpable of a valid security violation or three or more infractions, the Department forwarded the outcome to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Office of Personnel Security and Suitability (DS/PSS), to be placed in the individuals' official security file," Taylor wrote. "All valid security incidents are reviewed by DS and taken into account every time an individual's eligibility for access to classified information is considered.

"This referral occurred whether or not the individual was currently employed with the Department of State and such security files are kept indefinitely," Taylor added. "Consistent with the referral policy, for individuals who were still employed with the Department at the time of adjudication, the Department referred all valid security violations or multiple infractions to the Bureau of Human Resources."

State Department identifies 23 violations, 'multiple security incidents' concerning Clinton emails