The State Department has withdrawn former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's security clearance at her own request.
In a letter dated September 21, and released Friday by Republican Congressional Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, the State Department does not describe why she wanted her clearance revoked, and said she made the request on August 30.
The request came shortly after President Donald Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, a vocal critic of the president. The president has threatened to revoke the security of other Obama administration security officials, but did not include Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential election, on the list.
Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill in a tweet late Friday said that Clinton had made the request after Admiral William McRaven accused Trump of revoking security clearance to strike back at critics.
"Secretary Clinton has great respect for Admiral McRaven. She read this message & decided to take the step of voluntarily withdrawing her security clearance, which she maintained after leaving her post as Secretary of State to write her book, customary for former Secretaries," tweeted Merrill.
"Her attorney submitted a letter to the Department, citing McRaven's op ed. She did this quietly so as to not allow Trump to use our national security for partisan purposes yet again. Because that's what was in the best interest of the country."
He criticised Senator Grassley for releasing the letter, accusing him of "playing politics with our national security." Merill also tweeted a copy of the letter from Clinton's attorney, David E. Kendall, addressed to Assistant Secrtary of State for Diplomatic Security, Michael T. Evanoff, requesting her security clearance be withdrawn, citing her desire to avoid her security clearance become part of a "partisan controversy."
Here is Secretary Clinton’s letter from August 30th. pic.twitter.com/5ERoF8aAhY
— Nick Merrill (@NickMerrill) October 13, 2018
According to the State Department letter, the security clearance of five Clinton aides were also revoked.
The names of four officials were redacted, and the fifth was identified as Cheryl Mills, Clinton's former chief of staff at the state department.
The department noted in its letter that it is still examining documents provided by the FBI into Clinton's use of a private email account for state department business while secretary of state.
Clinton was investigated for her use of the private server by the FBI and State Department while running for president, and cleared of wrongdoing by the FBI.
The state department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security will examine the emails from Clinton and her staffers to establish if any rules were broken.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
