A former secretary of state and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate exclusively used a private email address, thus skirting archiving laws and leaving access to the official business they conducted up to the willingness of that person to cooperate with congressional oversight.
The reaction breaks down along ideological lines. While this seems like the premise of an awful thriller sold at an airport kiosk, it is very real.
The New York Times reported that during her tenure as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton never once used an official email address. By using her personal email account, Clinton avoids having her electronic communications archived and available to researchers and oversight investigators. To some in the mainstream media, this is no biggie.
Zeke Miller of Time magazine tweeted:
But which GOPer could credibly argue that they didn't use a private email account while in office?
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) March 3, 2015
When reminded of the fact that Clinton never once sent a single email from a government account, Miller waffled a little.
@rebeccagberg of course, just saying it's not as clean of an attack
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) March 3, 2015
Editor of Commentary magazine and New York Post columnist John Podhoretz found humor in it:
Good news: Hillary Clinton is on Compuserve, so she hasn't gotten her emails for the past 10 years anyway
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) March 3, 2015
National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke offered a possible explanation:
So what’s the best excuse here: “Well, you have to understand, she’s old and out of touch and doesn’t really understand technology”?
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) March 3, 2015
Political Director at CBS News may have hit on the real reason for Hillary’s actions:
Like many Americans, Hillary Clinton doesn't want the government reading her email. http://t.co/QgIYkPe9TX
— John Dickerson (@jdickerson) March 3, 2015
Meanwhile progressive NYU journalism professor used this as an opportunity to attempt to deny the existence of liberal media bias:
There's your liberal media protecting the Clintons again and behaving like the action arm of the Democratic party. http://t.co/Pq7SRlagcL
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) March 3, 2015
But even MSNBC host Ari Melber had to admit there could well be some “there” there:
A significant story and potential problem. NYT:Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email at State, Possibly Breaking Rules http://t.co/qoe0x1TbEx
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 3, 2015
Michelle Malkin chose the direct approach:
Most transparent administration EVAHHH. #hillary #emailwhatemail http://t.co/z0jYje22bf pic.twitter.com/UPiDyUEW7q
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) March 3, 2015
Politico’s Ben White was like a kid catching their parent putting a dollar under their pillow when they lost a tooth:
I just cannot believe this was allowed to happen. It just seems impossible. http://t.co/X89f5eDvjk
— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) March 3, 2015
GOP Communications Director went immediately political:
this isnt gonna go well: Emails indicate @HillaryClinton used domain registered day Senate hearings @WashingtonPost http://t.co/vGEAV6ie57
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) March 3, 2015