Judicial Watch obtained records that could implicate State Department officials in Hillary Clinton’s ongoing email scandal. According to those records, State Department officials planned to provide Clinton with a non-DOS computer.
Judicial Watch announced today that it recently received records from the Department of State disclosing plans by senior State Department officials to set up a “stand-alone PC” so that Clinton could check her emails in an office “across the hall” through a separate, non-State Department computer network system. Referencing the special Clinton computer system, Under Secretary for Management Patrick F. Kennedy, writes Clinton Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills, “The stand-alone separate network PC is a great idea.” The emails are from January 23-24, 2009, a few days after Clinton was sworn in as Secretary of State.The new emails were obtained by Judicial Watch in response a court order in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for State Department records about Hillary Clinton’s separate email system (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00689)).In the email chain, Lewis Lukens, former deputy assistant secretary of state and executive director of the secretariat, responds to a request from Mills by informing her, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, and Kennedy that the new personal computer “in the secretary’s office” would be “connected to the internet (but not through our system).” Abedin responds, “We are hoping for that if possible.”The email exchange discussing plans to provide Clinton a separate computer to skirt the internal State Department computer network begins with a message from Mills to Lukens in which she requests Clinton being able to access her emails through “a non-DOS computer.” The email discusses how the stand-alone computer can be set up and why it is “a great idea’ and “the best solution:”
The correspondence:
From: Cheryl MillsSent: Friday, January 23, 2009 6:45 AMTo: Lukens, Lewis ASubject: Re: Series of questionsLew – who can I talk to about:Can our email be accessed remotely through the web using a non-DOS computer like my laptop?I am traveling to the M-E – will my DOS bb work there and is there a cell phone attached?Spoke to Dan [Daniel B. Smith, former DOS executive secretary] re: bb for HRC (and reports that POTUS is able to use a super encrypted one which)Spoke to Dan re: setting up Counselor office for HRC so she can go across hall regularly to check her email***From: Lukens, Lewis ATo: cmills [REDACTED]Cc: Habedin [REDACTED]; Kennedy, Patrick F; Smith, Daniel BSent: Saturday, Jan. 24, 19:10:33 2009Subject: Re: series of questionsWe have already started checking into the NSA bb. Will set up the office across the hall as requested. Also, I think we should go ahead (but will await your green light) and set up a stand-alone PC in the Secretary’s office, connect to the internet (but not through our system) to enable her to check her emails from her desk. Lew.From: Kennedy, Patrick F KennedyPF@state.govTo: Lukens, Lewis A ; Cheryl MillsCc: Huma Abedin; Smith, Daniel B Sent: Sat, Jan 24 19:48:25 2009Subject: Re: Series of questionsCherylThe stand-alone separate network PC is [a] great ideaRegardsPatFrom: Huma AbedinTo: Kennedy, Patrick F; Lukens, Lewis A; Cheryl MillsCc: Huma Abedin; Smith, Daniel BSent: Sat Jan 24 19:48:27 2009Subject: Re: Series of questionsYes we were hoping for that if possible so she can check her email in her office.***From: Lukens, Lewis ASent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 8:26 PMTo: Kennedy, Patrick FSubject: Re: Series of questionsI talked to Cheryl about this. She says a problem is hrc does not know how to use a computer to do email – only bb [Blackberry]. But, I said would not take much training to get her up to speed.
Meanwhile:
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY