Brendan McDermid / Reuters
The State Department is investigating whether Hillary Clinton’s use of private email included sensitive information that would have violated security protocols during her tenure as secretary of state. An anonymous official did not provide further details on what security protocols entailed, but added that Clinton didn’t automatically violate any rules despite a Politico report that found her use of private email was a “clear-cut” violation of guidelines according to an employee manual. According to the New York Times, the department gained access to Clinton’s personal emails last summer as a part of an initiative to recover public records. In attempts to gain access, State officials met with Clinton’s lawyers and advisers last August after John Kerry’s chief of staff signed off on a request to retrieve the records. Department officials have maintained that Clinton and her staff determined which emails to hand over last year. A Clinton aide declined to comment on how many emails were withheld or how staff decided what was considered personal subject matter.