New Security Concerns from Hillary Clinton’s Email and Cell Phone

Ambassador John Bolton just issued this statement about the Hillary Clinton email scandal:

“Revelations about former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s private email account have also raised another issue. Her use of an insecure cellphone could also compromise national security by its vulnerability to capture by unfriendly sources.”

“We know that many hostile intelligence services have the capability to turn cellphones — even if they are turned off — into microphones that can be used to eavesdrop on conversations and meetings. If Secretary Clinton did not use a State Department-provided cellphone for official business she would not have had the benefit of monitoring by State security experts to ensure that her cellphone was not being exploited for this purpose.  There is an urgent need to understand and evaluate this threat through an independent review and a forensic assessment of Clinton’s cellphone and server either by Congress, the State Department Inspector General, or the National Security Agency.”

Hillary Clinton decided to use a private email server and private cell phone for official business while she was Secretary of State to avoid having over to turn over records of these communications to judicial and congressional inquiries.  This decision was a blatant violation of State Department rules and probably the law.  Concerns also have been raised that Clinton’s use of a private email server could have allowed U.S. adversaries to hack her email.

Adding to this scandal was Clinton’s statements that she will not turn over her email server to the Benghazi Commission and her staff unilaterally deleted 30,000 emails that they deemed personal.

A separate scandal is brewing concerning Huma Abedin, Clinton’s top aide while she was Secretary of State.  Andrew McCarthy and Frank Gaffney have written about Abedin’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.  We now know Abedin had an email account on Clinton’s private server and simultaneously worked at State as Clinton’s aide and in positions with the Clinton Foundation and Teneo Holdings, a consulting firm whose president is Doug Band, a former top aide to Bill Clinton.  Reports of million-dollar contributions from foreign countries to the Clinton Foundation while Clinton was Secretary of State – including from Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – coupled with Abedin’s Clinton email account, her Muslim Brotherhood ties and her consulting work for the Clinton Foundation, could be the makings of an extraordinary conflict of interest scandal.

In addition to these concerns, John Bolton believes Clinton’s use of a private cell phone created a serious security vulnerability that may have allowed hostile powers to eavesdrop on her official conversations.

Hillary Clinton did not comply with State Department guidelines on official email and cell phones because she thought the rules didn’t apply to her.  It is becoming apparent that Clinton’s arrogance may also have endangered U.S. national security.