President Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan last week after ordering a review of 10 people — one current and nine former officials — who he considers political adversaries.
One name not on the publicly announced list: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic candidate whose campaign was plagued by an FBI investigation into her mishandling of classified information.
Many former officials retain security clearances, but the status of Clinton’s clearance is not publicly known, despite being subject to intense debate, including bicameral legislation seeking to revoke her access.
The State Department told the Washington Examiner that it could not release information about Clinton’s clearance, citing her privacy, and Clinton’s attorneys would not comment.
“Due to privacy considerations, the department does not release information on former employees,” said Anne Carey, a spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton scoffed at the response, saying “there is no privacy interest.”
“Of course, the public has a right to know whether Hillary Clinton has a national security clearance. Why is the State Department protecting her still?” Fitton said.
Fitton said his staff filed a Freedom of Information Act request this week for the information. The conservative transparency group often sues when FOIA requests are denied.
Executive branch departments such as the State Department hold their own records of people, including former officials, who have a clearance and make decisions on whether to revoke access. The Obama White House said it would not be involved in the matter after then-FBI Director James Comey said administrative sanctions were possible over Clinton’s handling of records with a private email server, which he described as “extremely careless.”
Ned Price, a former White House staffer who worked at the National Security Council during Obama’s final years in office, said he doesn’t know if Clinton retains a clearance. Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, said “I suppose that it’s possible, but not at all certain” that Clinton has a clearance.
Two attorneys who have represented Clinton did not respond to requests for comment, including David Kendall, who represented her during the FBI’s investigation of her private email server. Kendall told the Washington Examiner in June that he still represented Clinton.
Concern about Clinton’s access to information predates Trump’s presidency. In July 2016, 16 senators led by Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and 13 members of the House of Representatives led by Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, introduced legislation that would revoke her security clearance.
The Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016 adopted language used by Comey, proposing to “prohibit any officer or employee of the Federal Government who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information from being granted or retaining a security clearance.”
One co-sponsor of the legislation, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told the Washington Examiner that he remains concerned about Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton undoubtedly jeopardized our national security through her reckless use of a private email server and the president has the authority to determine if she should maintain her clearance,” Risch said. He added: “The president has the ability and responsibility to determine in his judgment as commander-in-chief and head of all national security matters what persons have a legitimate need to hold a clearance.”
Unless Trump declares Clinton unable to access classified information — as he did with Brennan — the matter likely would remain only with the State Department.
It’s unclear why Trump did not put Clinton on the short list of prominent people under review. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced the review in an Aug. 15 statement, declaring “Any access granted to our nation’s secrets should be in furtherance of national, not personal, interests.”
The statement, attributed to Trump, specifically announced a review of Brennan, Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, former national security adviser Susan Rice, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI official Peter Strzok, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, and current Justice Department official Bruce Ohr.
At least two of the 10 people identified as under review apparently lack clearances. Comey told his friend, Lawfare editor Benjamin Wittes, that he no longer had a clearance. McCabe spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said his clearance “was deactivated when he was terminated, according to what we were told was FBI policy.” Strzok also was fired by the FBI, this month.
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on whether Clinton’s status is under review.
Mark Zaid, an attorney who routinely represents clients in cases involving classified information, said whether Clinton has a clearance may not matter much, as she probably isn’t actively reviewing records. “Presumably as former Secretary of State she would still retain eligibility, but likely has no current access,” he said.
Update:
Clinton’s security clearance was withdrawn on Aug. 30, one week after this article was published, “at her request,” the State Department said in a Sept. 21 letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley released the letter on Oct. 12.
