The chair of the House Select Committee on Benghazi said Tuesday night that the new finding that Hillary Clinton’s private emails contained top secret information is a serious national security risk that only came to light because his committee kept up pressure on Clinton.
“Secretary Clinton’s decision to prioritize her own convenience — and desire for control — over the security of our country’s intelligence should concern all people of good conscience,” Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said late Tuesday. “This is a serious national security issue, and the seriousness of it should transcend normal, partisan politics.”
Gowdy has pressed for more information from Clinton for more than a year, and said that pressure has led to real results despite ongoing criticism from Democrats that the Select Committee was a waste of time and money.
“The revelation that Secretary Clinton exclusively used private email for official public business, and the multitude of issues that emanated from her decision, including this most recent one, demonstrates what can happen when Congress and those equally committed to exposing the truth, doggedly pursue facts and follow them,” he said.
Gowdy said Clinton’s decision to hand over her private server to investigators came months after his committee implored her to do so.
“For months the Select Committee on Benghazi has called on Secretary Clinton to turn over her server to a neutral, detached third party for independent forensic examination,” he said. “She refused every entreat.”
Gowdy was backed up by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who said it’s long overdue for Clinton to hand over her server.
“It’s about time,” he said. “Secretary Clinton’s previous statements that she possessed no classified information were patently untrue. Her mishandling of classified information must be fully investigated.”
