• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds

1

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

2

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

3

Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Leadership

FBI Report Raises Questions About Hillary Clinton’s Record-Keeping

By
Massimo Calabresi
Massimo Calabresi
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Massimo Calabresi
Massimo Calabresi
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 3, 2016, 2:46 AM ET
Democratic Presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Campaigns In Iowa
Photograph by Scott Olson — Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

There have always been two legal questions regarding Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal server for all of her work e-mails during her tenure as Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013. The first is whether she violated any of the laws regarding the handling of classified material. The second is whether she violated the Federal Records Act.

New documents released by the FBI Friday afternoon seem to be in Clinton’s favor on the first question, but raise new questions about the second.

On Friday, the FBI released 58 pages of documents from its investigation into Clinton’s email use. Eleven pages were notes taken by FBI agents during their three-and-a-half hour interview of Clinton on July 2, 2016 at FBI Headquarters as they neared the end of their investigation into whether classified material was improperly handled or stored on her server. The other forty-seven pages were a detailed, but redacted, account of the investigation from start to finish.

The documents contain material that will be put to use by Clinton’s political opponents. During her interview with the FBI agents and Justice Department officials, Clinton said that she didn’t know what the “(C)” designation of classified material on an e-mail meant. She said several dozen times that she couldn’t recall details of her email arrangement or specific emails that were found to have contained classified information. The FBI investigation notes indicate Clinton had multiple mobile devices, rather than the one she initially said she used and suggest those working for her took extra measures to permanently delete emails, which sources familiar with the case previously said she didn’t.

Hillary Clinton to Prevent Price Hikes On Life-Saving Drugs if Elected

Unsurprisingly, however, there is nothing in the documents to contradict the unanimous conclusion of the FBI Director Jim Comey, his team of investigators and the Justice Department prosecutors who worked with them, that Clinton didn’t break any secrecy laws. While those laws are written very broadly, to bring charges under them prosecutors have generally required proof that the person mishandling the secrets was intentionally trying to harm the interests of the United States.

Even Clinton’s harshest critics have not alleged that. When he announced his team’s decision not to bring charges against Clinton after her interview in July, Comey said, “In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts,” Comey said.

The documents do raise new questions about Clinton’s compliance with the Federal Records Act, which requires federal officials to preserve their work records and to hand them over to the National Archives when they leave government. Days after President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January 2009, Clinton contacted former Secretary of State Colin Powell “to inquire about his use of a BlackBerry while he was Secretary of State,” the FBI interview notes say.

“Powell warned Clinton that if it became ‘public’ that Clinton had a BlackBerry, and she used it to ‘do business,’ her e-mails could become ‘official record[s] and subject to the law.” The FBI interview also says Powell told Clinton, “Be very careful. I got around it all by not saying much and not using systems that captured the data.”

For more on Clinton, watch:

When the FBI asked Clinton about the exchange, she told them that she took Powell to mean work-related communications would be government records and said in any event Powell’s comments “did not factor into her decision to use a personal e-mail account,” according to the FBI records. In a later email exchange, a State official warned a top Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, that if Clinton had an official State Department email account, all the emails on it would be subject to public requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Abedin said such an arrangement wouldn’t make sense for Clinton.

Clinton has repeatedly said that she thought she was preserving her work records by emailing her colleagues on their work emails, which she assumed would be captured by government retention procedures. The State Department’s Inspector General later said this was not an appropriate way to preserve government records and that Clinton should have printed and filed work emails from her private server.

Asked by the FBI about her failure to hand over her work emails when she left office, Clinton said she “received no instructions or direction regarding the preservation or production of records from State during the transition out of her role as Secretary of State.” She said that in December of 2012, she suffered a concussion, and around New Years had a blood clot. She said that her doctor instructed her not to go to work more than a few days a week and that she could not recall all of the briefings she received during that period.

Taken together, the documents paint the picture of a thorough FBI and Justice Department investigation. The newly released documents appear to support their decision with regard to violations of the secrecy laws.

But they raise further questions about Clinton’s compliance with the Federal Records Act. That may be a moot point, though as violations of that law are at their worst criminal misdemeanors, not felonies, and in a case involving Henry Kissinger, the Supreme Court set a high bar for prosecuting them.

This article originally appeared on Time.com

About the Authors
By Massimo Calabresi
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By TIME
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Older worker sad at laptop
SuccessGen X
A quarter of young baby boomers and Gen Xers who’ve been laid off in the last decade are still unemployed—and 11% have taken pay cuts to work
By Emma BurleighJuly 4, 2026
2 hours ago
usa
North Americahistory
Before independence, America tried — and failed — to conquer Canada
By Sarah M.S. Pearsall and The ConversationJuly 4, 2026
2 hours ago
The 1964 box set that predicted Dylan going electric — and still explains American music today
Arts & EntertainmentMusic
The 1964 box set that predicted Dylan going electric — and still explains American music today
By Ted Olson and The ConversationJuly 4, 2026
2 hours ago
Ejay O'Donnell, Bart Szaniewski, and Grant Eastey wear Dad Gang hats in a factory
SuccessEntrepreneurship
Three dads started selling hats from a garage with $750—now they’ve sold $35 million worth, partnered with Gary Vee, and grown a community of fathers
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
5 hours ago
loco
Travel & LeisureEntrepreneurship
The World Cup is just now discovering Middle America’s big heart. These Irish bingo kingpins built a $24 million business knowing it all along
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 4, 2026
6 hours ago
JPMorgan built a pipeline of female CEO candidates that was the envy of Wall Street. How did it fall apart?
MPWMost Powerful Women
JPMorgan built a pipeline of female CEO candidates that was the envy of Wall Street. How did it fall apart?
By Emma HinchliffeJuly 4, 2026
8 hours ago

Most Popular

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
Economy
Economists have found an answer to slowing cognitive decline: Avoid retiring early, study finds
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 2, 2026
2 days ago
On Wall Street, analysts increasingly don’t believe the U.S. government’s 'misleading' job numbers
Economy
On Wall Street, analysts increasingly don’t believe the U.S. government’s 'misleading' job numbers
By Jim EdwardsJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ every day Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
Success
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ every day Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
8 hours ago
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
Success
$25 billion CEO says one-hour interviews are a waste of time—he puts candidates through six hours of tests and wants them to order wine at lunch
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 3, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.