BlackBerry devices that were issued to top two aides of Hillary Rodham Clinton were destroyed by the State Department. Moreover, the department never issued any BlackBerry devices to Mrs. Clinton, officials told a federal court Wednesday in a filing.
Clinton was not issued a BlackBerry
Certain emails sent by the former secretary from her personal BlackBerry have not only become a political scandal for Mrs. Clinton, but have also turned into a major headache for President Obama’s administration. And now, the claims from the official’s raises further questions regarding the security of the email practices of the former secretary. Administration officials, who are investigating these emails, will give more details about the findings on Thursday in court.
On Wednesday, Ambassador Joseph E. Macmanus, executive secretary of the State Department, told the court that no computing devices were issued to former Secretary of State Clinton by his department, and no such device has been located either. Macmanus informed that BlackBerry devices were issued to Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills, but they can’t be found anywhere. By the time they were returned, they had gotten ‘old,’ and therefore, were “destroyed or excessed” as per the policy of the department.
No impact on presidential campaign
Former first lady and Senator Clinton is seeking presidential nomination for Democrats 2016, and her campaign aides are publicly waving off their worries over the emails, stating it was just another media feeding frenzy that will have no impact on voter’s decisions, says a report from Washington Post.
Jennifer Palmieri, a long-time aide of Clinton, told MSNBC that questions regarding the emails are being asked by the press and not by voters. Palmieri further said that during recent town halls in New Hampshire and Iowa, not a single question was asked regarding the emails. People were more interested in asking questions that had an impact on their lives.
However, questions over the emails are being raised by judges, and they are also questioning efforts made the State Department for the recovery of possible emails sent through BlackBerrys or any other device. Tracking down the emails and the devices used by Mrs. Clinton and her top aides Cheryl Mills and HumaAbedin is a tough task, and the department officials have had to scramble to try and get the job done.
