New emails from the Department of Labor show staff within that agency were worried about their private email practices in the wake of the controversy earlier this year over Hillary Clinton’s personal server.
Days after news of Clinton’s unusual email arrangement first broke in the New York Times on March 1, Department of Labor officials circulated email guidelines to ensure the agency’s ranks were complying with the law.
“[Y]ou may want to share with the group as to how NOT to handle things and how you can end up in nationwide news,” wrote Tanisha Bynum-Frazier, a director in the resource management office, in a March 3 email passing along a Washington Post article about Clinton’s private email use.
“[D]arn and I liked ole Hillary!” joked Rachel Vera, the agency’s records officer.
The set of emails was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by America Rising, a Republican political action committee, and were made public Friday.
The new documents show the unease that hit the State Department after its record-keeping practices were questioned spread to other federal agencies as well.
“What in the heck was State thinking???” Bynum-Frazier wrote.
“So glad I’m not working there…lol…but I’m sure our PA are no better,” Vera added.
Other Labor Department officials worried about the “political” implications of sharing criticism about Clinton throughout the agency.
One staff member warned that “some people may be more ‘politically sensitive’ than others” after an email blast containing an article that questioned Clinton’s use of a personal email network.
“I should have discussed the ’email infraction’ in generalities versus specifics,” Bynum-Frazier wrote to a colleague on March 4 after apparently receiving criticism from other Labor Department officials about promoting an article that was critical of Clinton.
The Democratic front-runner’s email woes have caused many federal agencies to revisit their record-keeping practices. The State Department has already begun the process of overhauling its email system to ensure all records are retained automatically.
