House Speaker Paul Ryan formally requested Hillary Clinton be denied access to classified information as a presidential candidate in a letter to the director of national intelligence Wednesday.
Clinton and her Republican opponent Donald Trump are set to begin receiving intelligence briefings once they are officially nominated by their respective parties this month. Ryan requested the government strip Clinton of this privilege in response to the FBI findings that she and her team were “extremely careless” in their handling of confidential information via email while she was Secretary of State.
FBI Director James Comey did not recommend charges Tuesday as a result of the investigation, which found Clinton sent and received top secret emails on her private email server, and that hostile foreign actors may have obtained access to her email account. But he said that in “similar” circumstances, an ordinary person would be subject to security or administrative sanctions. (RELATED: FBI Director Comey Obliterated These Talking Points)
“Given the FBI’s findings, denying Clinton access to classified information certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions,” Ryan wrote in the letter to James Clapper. “There is no legal requirement for you to provide Secretary Clinton with classified information, and it would send the wrong signal to all those charged with safeguarding our nation’s secrets if you choose to provide her access to this information despite the FBI’s findings.”
Ryan asked Clapper to provide a rationale if he chooses to reject the request in the conclusion of the letter.
Comey is set to answer questions from Republicans on Capitol Hill Thursday about his decision not to recommend and indictment of Clinton to the Justice Department. At least five congressional committees are already requesting information or planning to hold hearings on the completed FBI investigation.
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