Hillary Emails: Clearly Marked DHS ‘Sensitive Security Information’ Passed Through Private Server

TEL AVIV – An email sent to Hillary Clinton’s private server was clearly marked “Sensitive Security Information,” a designation that allows information to be sent to private email accounts only “under unique and urgent circumstances,” Breitbart Jerusalem has found.

The sensitive national security correspondence was contained in Monday’s batch of roughly 3,900 pages said to be the last of Clinton’s work-related emails.

Clinton has repeatedly stated that no information in her emails was marked classified at the time she sent or received the materials.

While this may be technically accurate in the case of the email in question, this particular message was twice marked as sensitive – once in capital letters and once in bold. “SBU/SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION (SSI),” read the email. “The information will be protected as SSI,” it stated further on.

In a third red flag regarding the sensitivity of the information, the author specifically demanded in bold lettering: “Please protect this information and limit distribution.”

The email contained intelligence warning that “extremists may be considering surgically implanting explosives in humans and animals to conduct terrorist attacks” on domestic or foreign airlines.

The June 17, 2011 message was sent by Deputy Coordinator for Homeland Security Anne A. Witkowsky to a number of government email addresses, including a State Department address for several special assistants such as then-State Department Line Officer Bernadette Meehan.

Three minutes later, Meehan forwarded the email to Clinton’s deputies, Jake Sullivan and Huma Abedin. Sullivan instantly sent the message to Clinton’s private email server. “More good news to start the weekend,” he wrote.

The full message reads:

SBU/SENSITIVE SECURITY INFORMATION (SSI) We wanted to provide heads up concerning a tearline that DHS/TSA is in the process of preparing, and that could go out as early as this evening, to U.S. and foreign air carriers as well as to selected foreign governments within Western Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. As we understand it, the tearline would include information that extremists may be considering surgically implanting explosives in humans and animals to conduct terrorist attacks. The information will be protected as SSI, but as always, there is a possibility it could be released publicly. For further information or questions, please contact S/CT.

Please protect this information and limit distribution.

The Transportation Security Administration defines SSI materials thusly:

Sensitive Security Information is information that, if publicly released, would be detrimental to transportation security, as defined by Federal Regulation 49 C.F.R. Part 1520.

As persons receiving SSI in order to carry out responsibilities related to transportation security, TSA stakeholders and non-DHS government employees and contractors, are considered “covered persons” under the SSI regulation and have special obligations to protect this information from unauthorized disclosure.

SSI is not officially designated as classified under Executive Order 12958, which normally governs classified material. However, the Department of Homeland Security issued its own strict guidelines about sharing and storing SSI information.

Section 6(b) of the DHS guidelines specifically stipulates that SSI cannot be sent to private email accounts except under “unique” and “urgent” circumstances.

SSI shall not be sent to personal email accounts except under unique and urgent circumstances when immediate transmission of information is required in the interest of transportation security and transmittal through approved means is unavailable or impractical. (3) The use of other electronic messaging systems must be approved by the TSA SSI Office, responsible IT security offices, and appropriate Component SSI Program Managers.

In the case of the email in question, the message states the information would be disseminated outside the government, particularly to domestic and foreign air carriers as well as to foreign governments. However, it was clearly marked “SSI” at the time it was transmitted to Clinton’s email account. The DHS rules allow for SSI to be transmitted outside the government on a need-to-know basis.

Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.