Officials at the National Archives and Records Administration — the agency tasked with managing official government records — were in touch with the State Department about plans to preserve former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s records shortly before she left that office, newly released emails reveal.
The emails were obtained by CNN through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted to NARA in March, shortly after it was revealed that the former secretary exclusively used a personal email server while in office, preventing many from being archived until she ultimately submitted them to the Department.
One email in particular shows that concerns were raised two and a half years ago that any retention of documents on Clinton’s part could create controversy.
“Before I forget,” Chief Records Officer for U.S. Government Paul Wester told two of his colleagues in December 2012, “when we meet later this week we need to discuss what we know, and how we should delicately go about learning more about, regarding the transition plans for Secretary Clinton’s departure from State.”
Wester then refers to someone identified only as Tom who, “heard (or thought he heard) from the Clinton Library Director that there are or may be plans afoot for taking her records from State to Little Rock.”
“Tom then got to asking questions about what we are doing to make sure everyone leaving the Administration does not leave with Federal records,” the email continues.
Ultimately, Wester says he spoke with Tom and explained how previous administrations have handled records retention and how NARA is seeking to clarify their guidance ahead of the upcoming inauguration when some high level officials planned to leave the administration.
He also says he told Tom copies of records can sometimes be kept in an approved way, citing the example of former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill used records to work on his memoir, “to illustrate how ‘walking off with the records’ is sometimes not really ‘walking off with the records.'”
Nevertheless, Tom (and another individual referred to only as Jay) appeared concerned, Wester said.
“Tom seemed to understand all of this, but he and Jay continued to invoke the specter of the Henry Kissinger experience vis-a-vis Hilary Clinton,” Wester said, referring to a controversy surrounding former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s decision to hold on to his official records.
There are several redactions in this and other emails obtained by CNN.
Clinton ultimately retained her emails on a private server until they were requested by the State Department late last year. She and her staff then turned over 55,000 pages of emails, keeping those they deemed irrelevant to her time in office.
The emails obtained by CNN also illustrate how officials at NARA came to learn of the Clinton controversy after they were reached out to by staff on a congressional committee, then a few days later by New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt, who broke the story in March.
After speaking with Schmidt, NARA’s General Counsel Gary Stern wrote to other NARA officials to explain the details of the story and their conversation.
“This case, if true, would present a concern,” he writes, “although it may be the case that the State Department has already taken appropriate action to recover the records.”
