ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, MARYLAND ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS JIM JORDAN, OHIO
CHAIRMAN RANKING MINORITY MEMBER

Congress of the Auited States

House of Representatives

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM
2157 RAYBURN House OFFICE BUILDING

WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6143

N e

June 18, 2019

The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
Chairman

Committee on Oversight and Reform
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

We request a hearing to examine widespread security protocol breaches at the State
Department concerning former Secretary Hillary Clinton’s private email server. The unorthodox
and unsecure arrangement she maintained exposed classified, national security and diplomatic-
sensitive information to a myriad of risks and related issues. On June 5, 2019, the State
Department disclosed that it had determined 15 officials had committed a total of 30 security
infractions and violations after reviewing emails found on Secretary Clinton’s private email
server.! The State Department’s review remains ongoing and they have signaled the likelihood of
further disclosures of personnel and security incidents before the conclusion of its review on
September 1, 2019.7

Given your previous statements about protecting our national security interests, | hope
you would agree that the Committee should take immediate action on this matter.’ The wide-
ranging fallout from these mishandling instances should not be minimized and obscured.

The State Department’s lengthy and time-consuming internal review of the email
communications in question have led to numerous mishandling probes, subsequent personnel
adjudications, and other administrative proceedings. In a letter to Sen. Grassley, the State
Department recently wrote, “given the volume of emails provided to the Department from former
Secretary Clinton’s private email server, the Department’s process has been necessarily more
complicated and complex requiring a significant dedication of time and resources.’

Letter from Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Assistant Sec’y, Bureau of Leg. Affairs, Dep’t of State, to Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, S$. Comm. on Finance (June 5, 2019).

2 Id.

3 See Business Meeting, H. Comm. on Oversight & Reform, 116" Cong. 7 (Apr. 2, 2019) (“What we are trying to do
is protect our secrets. We are trying to make sure we have a process that works, and for you who are here new here,
we spent a long time over the last session dealing with clearances and classified information, trying to make sure it
gets into the hands of the people who it should not be in the hands of.”) (statement of Elijah E. Cummings,
Chairman, H. Comm. on Oversight & Reform).

* Letter from Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Assistant Sec’y, Bureau of Leg. Affairs, Dep’t of State, to Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, S$. Comm. on Finance (June 5, 2019).


The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings
June 18, 2019
Page 2

The State Department has already assessed 30 security incidents in connection with
Clinton’s private server, which encompasses both security infractions and security violations.°
The Department has assessed 23 security violations and seven security infractions on 15 State
Department personnel, subjecting these offenders to termination and revocation of their security
clearances.° Some of these personnel “were culpable in multiple security incidents.”

We respectfully request that you schedule a hearing on the security incidents occurring at
the State Department and invite the State Department officials overseeing this review and
adjudication process. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
an Adan
Jim Jo Mark Meadows
Rankérig Member Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Government Operations

Ranking Member
Subcommittee on National Security

Bred

° See DEP’T OF STATE, FOREIGN AFFAIRS MANUAL, 12 FAM 550 SECURITY INCIDENT PROGRAM (2018).

7 Letter from Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Assistant Sec’y, Bureau of Leg. Affairs, Dep’t of State, to Chuck Grassley,
Chairman, S. Comm. on Finance (June 5, 2019).