EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Aides Talked Benghazi with Clinton Foundation Staff, Withheld Emails

Hillary Clinton’s top State Department aides turned to Clinton Foundation employees for political help in the immediate aftermath of the Benghazi terrorist attack, and Clinton withheld those emails from the House Benghazi Committee investigating her conduct.

Clinton currently faces federal investigation for allegedly allowing people without a security clearance to access classified information, in violation of the Espionage Act. Newly-discovered emails, considered classified by the State Department, were going to Clinton Foundation staffers who did not have a security clearance to view classified information.

Breitbart News obtained a “Vaughn list” of thirteen email exchanges involving top Clinton State Department aide Cheryl Mills. A “Vaughn List” is a list of emails that are being withheld and kept confidential, even though they correspond to someone’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The State Department compiled the “Vaughn List” for the group Citizens United, which filed a FOIA for all relevant communications between Mills and Clinton Foundation staffers. The emails are being withheld under Exemptions 5 and 6, for “privileged information” and “personal privacy.”

All of the emails were sent between October 20, 2012 and January 21, 2013, in the immediate weeks after the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of four Americans at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Hillary Clinton received intelligence the day after the attack fingering the Ansar al-Sharia terrorist group as the culprits, but she still went ahead and blamed spontaneous response to a YouTube video for the attack.

Mills and other Clinton staffers — including her advisers Philippe Reines and Jacob Sullivan and her underlings Victoria Nuland, Thomas Nides, and Patrick Kennedy, who now oversees the State Department’s email production efforts on the Clinton case — all showed up on the “Vaughn List,” indicating that they were swapping emails during this critical period with Clinton Foundation staffers.

Citizens United president David Bossie told Breitbart News that the emails would not be responsive “unless they communicated with somebody at the Clinton Foundation,” and that the House Benghazi Committee did not even know that these emails existed.

“One of my staff communicated with the committee and provided them with the Vaughn index and their response was that we don’t think we have these,” Bossie said.

The emails appear to be responsive to the Trey Gowdy-led Benghazi Committee’s subpoena, the committee thought.

Why is the State Department keeping these thirteen email exchanges confidential?

“I think they and their allies are trying to play beat-the-clock, they want to be the nominee, she wants to be the nominee, if there’s an opportunity to put out information as late as possible, they’ve been doing it now for the last couple of years,” Bossie said.

“Seven-page email exchanges discussing Department’s proposed response to request from Representative Jason Chaffetz for documents pertaining to the Benghazi attacks. Includes a proposed draft from Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs.

Three-page email exchange consisting of two messages discussing Department’s proposed response to a member of Congress pertaining to the Benghazi attacks.

One-page email exchange consisting of two messages discussing Department’s proposed response to a member of Congress pertaining to the Benghazi attacks.

Three-page email exchange consisting of two messages discussing Department’s proposed response to a member of Congress pertaining to the Benghazi attacks.

Four-page email exchange discussing a proposed statement about the Benghazi attacks. Includes proposed official statements, as well as edits and comments on draft.

One-page email exchange regarding strategy for responding to Congressional inquiries pertaining to the Benghazi attacks.

Two-page email exchange discussing draft Congressional testimony; reflects internal exchange of ideas regarding proposed Congressional testimony pertaining to the Benghazi attacks.

One-page email exchange “discussing Kennedy’s proposed Congressional testimony.” (* Note: does not expressly mention Benghazi, according to the State Department Vaughn list).

One-page email exchange “discussing preparations for an upcoming Congressional hearing.” * Note: does not expressly mention Benghazi.

One-page email exchange “discussing proposed interactions with Congress to be taken by a Department official over a several week period,” includes internal exchange regarding “how to respond to requests from Congress for certain information.” * Note: does not expressly mention Benghazi.

One-page email from Verma “providing an update on interactions with and proposed responses to Congress in response to various Congressional inquiries.” * Note: does not expressly mention Benghazi.

One-page email exchange “discussing a draft memo to Congress.” * Note: does not expressly mention Benghazi.

Two-page email exchange “discussing the timing of proposed hearings before and calls to Congress.” *Note: does not expressly mention Benghazi.”