Senator Isakson Takes Action to Remove Clinton's Security Clearance

Press Release

In light of the FBI's task force investigation into Hillary Clinton's email practices during her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson today sent a letter to current U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling on the U.S. State Department to revoke Secretary Clinton's security clearance and impose other security and administrative sanctions on Clinton and her aides who were implicated in the FBI's findings.

Additionally, Isakson sponsored legislation (S. 3135), which prohibits any officer of the federal government who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information from being granted or retaining a security clearance.

"While the FBI may have may not have found evidence of criminal intent sufficient to recommend bringing charges against Secretary Clinton in a court of law, it seems to me that, in light of the findings of extreme neglect and careless handling of matters of top secret intelligence, it would be a commonsense security measure to revoke her current top secret clearance," Isakson said. "When a person is elevated to such a high level of trust, such as Secretary of State, the public assumes the responsibilities of that position will not be taken lightly. Should her clearance be revoked, as we have asked it to be, it will be up to the American people to decide whether this severe lack of judgment in protecting our sensitive national security information from foreign enemies is a quality that they want in our next commander in chief."

FBI Director James Comey announced on July 5, 2016, that the Bureau's investigation into Hillary Clinton's email practices while serving as U.S. Secretary of State show the "security culture of the State Department… was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information that is found elsewhere in the government" and that Clinton and her staff were "extremely careless" in the handling of top secret information.

Nonetheless, Director Comey announced that the FBI recommends no criminal charges be brought against former Secretary Clinton. FBI Director Comey then contradicted his recommendation, saying, "…this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions."

On Wednesday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch formally announced that the Department of Justice would not pursue criminal charges given the FBI's recommendation.

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