The latest defense advanced by Team Clinton for the former secretary of state’s decision to use a private email system and server: she didn’t have any way of knowing whether the material in them was classified. She was just a “passive recipient.” And, hey, a lot of things are classified that shouldn’t be.
Let’s grant that the government does indulge in overclassification. But let’s also keep in mind that there is going to be a lot of material that really should be classified that comes over the electronic transom of a secretary of state’s office. Team Clinton’s defense — that she didn’t send out material labeled as classified and didn’t receive any mail that she thought was classified — is preposterous (and almost surely factually wrong). I am not a computer expert, but my understanding is that hackers can gain access not only to the emails you send but also to emails you receive. Any person smart enough to get appointed secretary of state can be presumed to know that she or he is going to receive emails with a lot of information that is and really should be classified. And that a hacker could gain access to those emails.
In choosing to employ a private email system, Clinton acted in reckless disregard of her duty to keep classified information secure. That doesn’t sound like a qualification to be president.
