State Department spokesman John Kirby told the MSNBC “Morning Joe” crew on Tuesday that service members who “mishandled” classified information — a la Hillary Clinton — should face consequences.
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“As a naval officer, I certainly was put under strict guidelines on that and observed them, and of course we expect that of everybody here at the State Department too,” Kirby first stated. “Everybody is trained on how to handle classified information.”
“That involves not having your own email server, right?” posed host Mika Brzezinski. “That makes no sense.”
“So, admiral, what you’re saying is there would be no consequences for a U.S. Navy E6 petty officer who handled classified information descriptively like the FBI director handled,” added former White House staffer Steve Schmidt. “I’m just curious from a standard perspective that would a Navy E6 mid-level enlisted person, would there be any consequences for a handling classified information like that?”
“The short answer is, of course, yes,” Kirby responded. “In the Navy and in all the military services, the improper handling of classified information is something we take very seriously, and people are held to account for that. It’s the same here at the State Department. People are held to account for the proper handling of classified information. We take this very seriously.”
“Whether it’s a chief petty officer, a lieutenant, whether it’s an admiral like I was, if you mishandle classified information and it comes to light, you will be held to account as you should be.”