The definition of “is” episode has been the gold standard of semantic distortion in American politics for nearly two decades, but no more. The language surrounding Hillary Clinton’s email controversy is far more complicated than your basic verbs. When it comes to examining the Clintons and their scandals, one is advised to have a dictionary at hand.
When it was revealed in March that Mrs. Clinton relied exclusively on a non-government email system set up in her basement while secretary of state, words like “home-brew” and “server” entered the popular lexicon. Now we’re talking about “nodes” and a “SIRIUS box” — other pieces of hardware that the FBI has requested from Platte River Networks or Datto, which provided back-end support to Mrs. Clinton’s email concoction.
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Last week, campaign aides were surprised to learn that Datto stored her email data on a “cloud,” which is a system “designed to optimize data recovery” — no wonder they were rattled by the news. Datto has reportedly turned everything over to the FBI. Whenever new information like this is uncovered by one of the congressional committee’s investigating Mrs. Clinton’s conduct, she claims to be learning about it for the first time or jokes about it, like when she responded to Ed Henry’s question about wiping her server with, “What, like, with a cloth or something,” before storming out of her own press conference.
The information technology jargon pales in comparison to the knowledge of America’s classification system one must summon to fully comprehend the type of sensitive information contained in Mrs. Clinton’s emails. On Aug. 12, a Drudge Report headline blared: “TopSecret//SI//TK//NOFORN” which at first glance looks like something stamped on files in the “Bourne Identity.” This alphabet soup refers to the classification designations of the information contained in the former secretary of state’s emails, which her campaign claims were applied retroactively.
“SI” refers to Special Intelligence that must be kept in “a special hardened room that is safe from both physical and electronic intrusion” known as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF. “TK,” or Talent Keyhole, refers to information that was gathered via satellite imaging. “NOFORN” means that foreigners are strictly prohibited from viewing the information. The latest tranche of emails released by the State Department contains emails marked “B1,” which means they contain information that is classified, and “B5,” which “refers to internal deliberations by the executive branch.”
Don’t even try to make sense of how Mrs. Clinton wiped her server or what information contained in her emails was classified or you’ll be hit with dismissive campaign snark like this from communications director Jennifer Palmieri: “This is like, everyone’s an expert on inflating footballs and now everybody’s an expert on wiping servers. Like, I don’t know how that all works.”
Right, the amount of air in Tom Brady’s football is the same as one of America’s top government officials storing and deleting classified information on an unsecured server against government regulations. It’s as if Ms. Palmieri thinks that voters are always dying to learn the ins-and-outs of email systems, or football inflation, for that matter. But really, all they want are serious answers to serious questions. So far, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign refuses to play it straight on the former and mocks the latter.
Democrats use phrases like “Republicans are obsessed” and officials can “quibble” about classifications to defend Mrs. Clinton’s email practices. Mostly, they just want her to get this issue behind her by whatever means necessary so that she can staunch the bleeding and lock up the Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, the top words Americans associate with Hillary Clinton are “liar,” “dishonest,” “untrustworthy” and “criminal.”
Perhaps if Mrs. Clinton were more concerned with things like the Russian phishing scam that targeted her unsecured emails than attacking the House Benghazi Committee for conducting a “fishing expedition,” then people might believe that she takes this issue as seriously as they do.
Andrew Moore is a public affairs consultant based in Washington, DC. Follow him on Twitter @MooreIam. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
