Speaker Paul D. Ryan is calling on Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to block the “extremely careless” Hillary Clinton, expected to be the Democratic nominee for president, from receiving intelligence briefings through the election campaign.
“I firmly believe that this is necessary to reassure the public that our nation’s secrets are secure,” the speaker said.
Ryan further demanded Clapper defend his decision to grant the former first lady access to national security intelligence.
Ryan, who was the 2012 GOP nominee for vice-president, wrote to Clapper that there is no legal requirement to provide presidential and vice-presidential candidates with intelligence briefings and that to allow Clinton to participate in what is a modern practice sends the wrong signal to men and women charged with safeguarding our country’s most vital secrets.
FBI Director James Comey recommended to Attorney General Loretta Lynch Tuesday that Department of Justice prosecutors forgo charging and prosecuting Clinton for her handling of classified documents and electronic correspondence during her four-year tenure as Secretary of State. In his announcement, Comey described Clinton’s handling of classified items as “extremely careless,” which he said was different from the standard in federal law of “gross negligence” for prosecution.
Comey also cataloged several points, where Clinton’s explanations regarding her practice of conduction official electronic correspondence exclusively through a personal email account hosted on a server owned by her husband President Bill Clinton were alien to the facts.
Ryan also made the point to Clapper that Comey did not rule out administrative sanctions, which the FBI director said were typical and appropriate for circumstances, such as for Clinton.
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