I have an article up on how helpless Hillary Clinton appears to be–indeed, her staff worried so much about her handling of her Blackberry that top aide Huma Abedin tried to confiscate it, much as one pries a dangerous toy from the hands of a small child.
I pointed out that, as the nation's top diplomat, Mrs. Clinton never bothered to learn the State Department's system for protecting the nation's secrets.
I wish I'd known this before I wrote the article:
Newly Released FBI Interview Notes Show Hillary Didn't Know that "C" Meant Classified
Politico reports:
And when she was asked about a "C" marking in one of her emails, a marking the FBI considered an indication of classification, Clinton said she did not know what it meant and speculated "it was referencing paragraphs marked in alphabetical order," adding that she "did not pay attention to the 'level' of classified information and took all classified information seriously."
Good grief.
This is so astonishing that I suspect Mrs. Clinton may have been playing dumb to protect herself. Nah, feminists don't do that, do they? Either way, this is damning. Does she intend to run the country that way? (Answer: yes, if elected.)
A few more tidbits:
The FBI interview also seems to confirm that some of the emails in question dealt with U.S. drone strikes.
When discussing a redacted email, for example, Clinton “stated deliberation over a future drone strike did not give her cause for concern regarding classification,” and Clinton “understood this type of conversation as part of the routine deliberation process.”
The U.S. treats drone operations conducted by the CIA as classified, even though in a 2012 internet chat Presidential Barack Obama acknowledged U.S.-directed drone strikes in Pakistan.
The report also states, "Clinton could not recall how often she used this authority or any training or guidance provided by State."
And here's more to make you feel that the nation's foreign affairs were in good hands:
The FBI’s probe found multiple cases of phishing or spear-phishing emails to Clinton’s email account when she was secretary of state. The investigation refers to a 2011 email that was part of one the State batch releases that contained a potentially malicious link. Clinton responded to that email, writing, “Is this really from you? I was worried about opening it!”
In another instance, deputy chief of staff Huma Abedin emailed someone, whose identity was redacted in the investigation, expressing concern from Clinton that “someone [was] hacking into her email” after the secretary of state receiving an email from “a known [redacted] associate containing a link to a website with pornographic material,” according to the FBI’s report.
Clinton, despite portraying herself as a feminist trailblazer, comes across as an utterly helpless woman who is completely dependent on her staff:
At several points during her interview with the FBI, Clinton said she relied on the judgment of other government officials when it came to the handling of classified information. When reviewing an email from October of 2012, for example, Clinton said that while she did not recall the message specifically, she described an individual involved with the communication as "someone who was well acquainted with handling classified information" and "described him as someone she held in high regard."
She said she "relied on" the individual, whose name is redacted in the FBI notes, and she had "no concern over his judgement and ability to handle classified information."
I ended my column about helpless Hillary with an attempt at a joke:
Given Mrs. Clinton's signal incompetence and helplessness, it is downright nervy that her campaign tries to portray her as a dab hand in foreign affairs. But she does have a compelling ad out that features the White House with a voice over: “In times of crisis, America depends on steady leadership, clear thinking, and calm judgment,” the narrator says. “Because all it takes is one wrong move.”
If you've considered Mrs. Clinton's level of competence, this ad only makes you pray that, if Mrs. Clinton becomes president, Huma won't leave the box with those nuclear codes lying around where Hillary might mistake it for the TV remote.
Maybe this is not so funny in light of the FBI notes.