State Department officials deny Clinton email investigation has anything to do with Trump


The White House is ramping up its investigation into the email records of as many as 130 current and former State Department officials who sent messages to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email, The Washington Post reports.
The officials targeted in the investigation, which was in the spotlight throughout the 2016 presidential election, were notified that emails they sent years ago during Clinton's tenure in the Obama administration have been retroactively classified and may now possibly be considered security violations. State Department investigators reportedly began contacting the former officials about 18 months ago, but seemingly dropped it before the recent contact in August. State Department officials said they are following standard protocol that "avoids any appearance of political bias" and that the timing of the investigation's apparent revival makes perfect sense.
"This has nothing to do with who is in the White House," a senior State Department official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Post. "This is about the time it took to go through millions of emails, which is about three-and-a-half years."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, the subjects of the investigation believe the State Department's recent activity is an example of the Trump administration using executive powers to harm political adversaries. "It is such an obscene abuse of power and time involving so many people for so many years," one former U.S. official said. "This has just sucked up people's lives for years and years." Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 13, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants