Hillary Clinton’s private inbox attracted a wide variety of emails, from classified material to mundane agency memos. It was also a magnet for flattery from people across her political network, all of them hoping to curry favor with the secretary of state and prospective presidential candidate.

While adulation is a common currency in Washington, observers have noted Clinton racked up a particularly high volume of praise during her years at the State Department. Friends and staff fawned over everything from her fashion choices to her television interviews, assuring Clinton that “our country is so lucky to have [her]” and that “America is better because she served.”