Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., demanded on Monday that State Department Undersecretary of Management Patrick Kennedy resign or be terminated from his position for protecting then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a “quid pro quo” scheme.
“The fact that Under Secretary Kennedy allegedly ‘pressured’ the FBI to change the classification of an email to benefit Secretary Clinton as part of a ‘quid pro quo’ after her behavior came to light is alarming, and a sign of just how corrupt the State Department became under her tenure,” Rubio said in a press release. “Kennedy should be removed from his position immediately until a real investigation is completed.”
On Monday, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz criticized the Democratic presidential nominee’s handling of classified information, including how Clinton attempted “to influence the FBI to change” those privacy ratings.
Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, had unsuccessfully urged Secretary of State John Kerry in July to suspend the security clearances of former Clinton and her aides.
“Compromising our nation’s secrets and attempting to trade favors with the FBI further undermines the integrity of the State Department, and sends the wrong message to the millions of federal employees and contractors who take our nation’s security seriously,” Rubio concluded.
