Two former high-ranking Obama administration officials say they did not know about the existence of Hillary Clinton’s private email server while she was serving as secretary of state. They also refused to say whether they approved her use of such a server.
Derek Chollet, a former assistant secretary of defense, and Matthew Olsen, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, spoke with reporters Monday afternoon in a call organized by the left-leaning National Security Network. The call was promoted by the Clinton presidential campaign, as well, in preparation for Clinton’s Thursday testimony to the House select committee on Benghazi.
Asked if they knew about the server at the time Clinton served in the Obama administration, both Chollet and Olsen said they did not. Asked if they approved of the use of such a server, Chollet said he would “pass” on that question.
“It’s not really for me to say,” said Chollet, who added that the government does need to rethink its classification process for sensitive documents.
Olsen also said he would “pass” on the question of whether or not he approved of Clinton’s server.
Clinton has claimed that having a private server, which was not secure and through which classified information passed, was allowable under the State Department’s rules. She has also said she “regrets” setting it up because of the controversy that has arisen since the House committee first discovered its existence.
Both Chollet and Olsen have left government for the private sector. Chollet is currently an advisor for Beacon Global Strategies, a firm co-founded by two close Clinton aides, Philippe Reines and Andrew Shapiro. Asked if he was being paid by Beacon to participate in Monday’s call, Chollet said, “As far as I know they don’t even know I’m on this call.” He also said he had not been encouraged to do the call by the Clinton campaign.
