The State Department on Friday had no comment about reports that Hillary Clinton’s official calendar from when she was secretary of state was scrubbed to hide evidence of her meetings with Clinton Foundation donors, and said it couldn’t speak to how her calendar was maintained then.
“The State Department maintained and preserved extensive records of Secretary Clinton’s calendars, and that’s evident from the records provided by the department to the Associated Press in this case,” said spokesman John Kirby.
“It’s a matter of ongoing litigation, and as such I’m not going to offer additional details,” he added. “I’m also not in a position to speak to how past secretaries and their staff handled schedules.”
At the same time, Kirby assured reporters that Secretary of State John Kerry’s calendars are being properly maintained.
“The secretary’s calendars are being properly preserved and maintained. That includes who he’s meeting with,” he said.
But he did say that Kerry is allowed to have private meetings that don’t get recorded in details such as who was attending.
“When he’s on vacation, we don’t keep a calendar for him,” he said. “But if he’s doing a working meeting, a working lunch, a working dinner, all that’s recorded.”
An Associated Press study showed that at least 75 meetings that Clinton had with donors to the Clinton Foundation were listed as “private meetings.” But Clinton is being criticized for giving those donors access to her while at the State Department, and some say that could have led to favorable government treatment for these donors.
