Clinton Emails Found to Contain Top-Secret Info

22 emails will not be released to the public—ever
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2016 5:15 PM CST
Clinton Emails Found to Contain Top-Secret Info
The State Department announced Friday that for the first time Hillary Clinton's emails from her personal server were found to contain "top-secret" information.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The State Department will be releasing approximately 1,000 pages of Hillary Clinton's emails on Friday evening, the Washington Post reports. Not being released: 22 emails determined to contain "top-secret" information. According to the AP, it's the first time officials have given any of Clinton's emails that classification and refused to release them. It also means that information that could be an "exceptionally grave" threat to national security was on Clinton's personal server, Slate reports. According to the Post, the State Department's announcement Friday could make things more difficult for Clinton only days before the Iowa primary. The top-secret emails have to do with "special access programs," possibly drone strikes, spying, or confidential sources, the AP reports.

Officials have yet to determine whether the information contained within the 22 emails was actually classified at the time Clinton sent or received it, the Post reports. The AP quotes Clinton spokesperson Brian Fallon, who calls the top-secret designation "over-classification run amok." He says at least one of the emails now marked as top secret is just information from a news article. The Clinton camp still wants all the emails released, Fallon says. Also on Friday, the White House walked back a statement by spokesperson Josh Earnest, who said it doesn't appear Clinton will be indicted over the email scandal, NBC News reports. Investigators say the White House would have no way of knowing that. According to the AP, Clinton has said she never used her personal email account to send or receive classified information. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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