An anonymous hacker using a computer in Serbia scans hundreds of millions of Internet addresses for accessible openings, called “ports.” Clinton’s private server is scanned by this hacker in August 2012 and again in December. The hacker’s millions of results are then made widely available on-line. It is unknown if anyone looking at this data figures out if the server belongs to Bill and Hillary Clinton, although the name “clintonemail.com” is a clue. (The Associated Press, 10/13/2015)
August 2012: A US ambassador is forced to resign after using a private email account for government work.
US Ambassador Scott Gration (Credit: Capital News)
The State Department criticizes US Ambassador to Kenya Scott Gration in part because he used a private email account to handle “sensitive but unclassified” material. Gration is forced to resign. (The Washington Post, 3/10/2015)
A 2012 State Department inspector general’s report faults him for flouting government rules, including the requirement that he use a State Department email account. “He has willfully disregarded Department regulations on the use of commercial email for official government business.” (The New York Times, 8/8/2015)
August 2, 2012: Clinton gets another email clearly marked as “classified,” contradicting her later claims.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (Credit: Lintao Zhang / The Associated Press)
Clinton is sent an email by State Department official Monica Hanley regarding a phone call to United Nations/Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan. The email is a call sheet to help Clinton with her talking points while speaking to Annan. The first paragraph starts with the text: “(C) Purpose of Call.” The “(C)” is an official code known as a “portion marking,” and it indicates the information is classified at the “confidential” level. Other sections of the email are marked with (SBU), a code meaning “sensitive but unclassified.” (US Department of State, 11/30/2015)
This is the second time it is known Clinton received an email clearly marked as classified, after getting another one from Hanley in April 2012. (US Department of State, 1/29/2016) This email’s existence won’t be publicly noticed until after FBI Director James Comey will comment on July 5, 2016 that a very small number of Clinton’s emails were marked classified at the time. (The New York Times, 7/5/2016)