FLASH UPDATE: THE “FBI IS ON HILLARY’S CASE” EDITION

REPORTS FROM SEVERAL MEDIA OUTLETS INDICATE THAT: THE FBI IS LOOKING INTO THE SECURITY OF HILLARY CLINTON’S PRIVATE E-MAIL SYSTEM  — INDICATION THAT INVESTIGATION IS THE RESULT OF THE “REFERRAL” BY THE INTELLIGENCE AND STATE DEPARTMENT INSPECTORS GENERAL

DENVER FIRM  —  PLATTE RIVER NETWORKS   —   REPORTEDLY THE “MANAGER” OF HRC’S E-MAIL SYSTEM  —  QUESTIONED BY GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATORS  —  HILLARY’S ATTORNEYS ALSO QUESTIONED ABOUT THUMB-DRIVE IN THEIR POSSESSION  —  FBI IS REPORTEDLY ATTEMPTING TO SECURE SENSITIVE DATA AS WELL AS INVESTIGATE BREACHES

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE FULL OF INFORMATION ABOUT TECHS, WHO OPERATED HRC'S E-MAIL SYSTEM

The Washington Post, and several other news and media outlets are reporting that the Federal Bureau of investigation has begun an inquiry concerning the security aspects of Hillary Clinton’s system of handling secure information on her private E-mail system.  According to the WaPo report: “The FBI has begun looking into the security of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s private e-mail setup, contacting in the past week a Denver-based technology firm that helped manage the unusual system, according to two government officials....  Also last week, the FBI contacted Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall, with questions about the security of a thumb drive in his possession that contains copies of work e-mails Clinton sent during her time as secretary of state....  The FBI’s interest in Clinton’s e-mail system comes after the intelligence community’s inspector general referred the issue to the Justice Department in July. Intelligence officials expressed concern that some sensitive information was not in the government’s possession and could be ‘compromised’ ....” ( See “FBI looking into the security of Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail setup” by By Carol D. Leonnig, Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger, 8/4/15, The Washington Post [http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fbi-looks-into-security-of-clintons-private-e-mail-setup/2015/08/04/2bdd85ec-3aae-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html]).

Also according to the article that appeared in the Washington Post, Hillary Clinton’s personal attorney David Kendall confirmed being contacted by the FBI, saying: “The government is seeking assurance about the storage of those materials. We are actively cooperating.”  Merrill, the Clinton spokesman, declined to respond to detailed questions about the setup of the server. A lawyer for the Denver-based computer company that reportedly “managed” Clinton’s E-mail system, Platte River Networks, declined to comment, as did multiple Justice Department officials – according to the report in the Washington Post.

HILLARY’S CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN, NICK MERRILL, DUCKS-BOBS-AND-WEAVES, BUT DOESN’T SPEAK ABOUT THE FBI INVESTIGATION OR TALK ABOUT HILLARY’S E-MAIL SYSTEM

The Washington Post article additionally noted that   “....   Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton’s campaign, declined to comment on the FBI’s actions. He noted that Clinton has called repeatedly for the State Department to release her e-mails to the public, a process that is ongoing....  In a statement, Merrill said that Clinton ‘did not send nor receive any emails that were marked classified at the time. We want to ensure that appropriate procedures are followed as these emails are reviewed while not unduly delaying the release of her emails. We want that to happen as quickly and as transparently as possible.’...  Merrill, the Clinton spokesman, declined to respond to detailed questions about the setup of the server.

WASHINGTON POST GIVES MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HILLARY’S  E-MAIL SYSTEM

The article in the WaPo also made note of the following details concerning Hillary Clinton’s E-mail setup:  “....  The inquiries are bringing to light new information about Clinton’s use of the system and the lengths to which she went to install a private channel of communication outside government control  —  a setup that has emerged as a major issue in her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination....  For instance, the server installed in her Chappaqua, N.Y., home as she was preparing to take office as secretary of state was originally used by her first campaign for the presidency, in 2008, according to two people briefed on the setup. A staffer who was on the payroll of her political action committee set it up in her home, replacing a server that Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, had been using in the house....  Responsibility for setting up and maintaining the server that handled personal e-mail communications for Bill and Hillary Clinton passed through a number of different hands, starting with Clinton staffers with limited training in computer security and eventually expanding to Platte River [the Denver computer company].....”

The Post report then gave this brief history of Hillary and Bill Clinton’s in-home computer system:  “....  In 2008, responsibility for the system was held by Justin Cooper, a longtime aide to the former president who served as a personal assistant and helped research at least two of his books. Cooper had no security clearance and no particular expertise in safeguarding computers, according to three people briefed on the server setup. Cooper declined to comment....  ‘The system we used was set up for President Clinton’s office. And it had numerous safeguards. It was on property guarded by the Secret Service. And there were no security breaches,’ Hillary Clinton said in March....”

The Washington Post coverage went on to say, “....  Those briefed on the server setup say the device installed for Bill Clinton was deemed too small for the addition of a sitting Cabinet official. Instead, a server that had been purchased for use by Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign was installed at the Chappaqua home....  

It gave these additional bits of technical information: “....   With the [‘new’] server came an additional specialist: Bryan Pagliano, who had worked as her campaign’s IT director. According to federal campaign finance records, Pagliano was paid by Clinton’s Senate leadership PAC through April 2009. The next month, he went to work for the State Department as an IT specialist, a department official said. The people briefed on the server indicated that he continued to act as the lead specialist responsible for it....   The e-mail system was not always reliable, these people said, with Pagliano summoned at various times to fix problems. Notably, the system crashed for days after New York was hit by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state.... That led to new conversations about the need for better security, durability and a more professional setup, according to these people. In 2013 [after Hillary Clinton was no longer Secretary of State], the Clintons hired Platte River to maintain the data....”