State Department Audit Criticizes Hillary Clinton's Email Practices

An audit by the State Department Inspector General criticized not only former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but also former Secretary of State Colin Powell, for non-compliance over personal email use and preservation.

From NBC News:

"At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with Department issues before leaving government service," says an audit by the State Department Inspector General, obtained by NBC News.

"Because she did not do so, she did not comply with the [State] Department's policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act."

The audit found that the non-compliance over personal email went beyond Clinton, and that former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, also failed to preserve government-related emails when he was secretary of state.

The State Department asked Powell to try to receive relevant emails from his internet provider, but "as of May 2016 the Department has not received a response" from Powell, the audit said.

Indeed, the report's conclusion cites "longstanding, systemic weaknesses" in electronic record-keeping "that go well beyond the tenure of any one secretary of state."

Clinton's campaign spokesman tweeted out this statement:

GOP will attack HRC because she is running for President, but IG report makes clear her personal email use was not unique at State Dept

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) May 25, 2016