In 2012, Hillary Clinton's State Department forced the resignation of the U.S. ambassador to Kenya in part for using an unsanctioned private email system.
Former U.S. ambassador to Kenya Scott Gration started using a private email system in his office in 2011, according to a 2012 report from the State Department's inspector general.
The New York Times wrote that Gration "preferred to use Gmail for official business and set up private offices in his residence - and an embassy bathroom - to work outside the purview of the embassy staff."
The inspector general's report on Gration specifically noted that he violated State Department policy by using a private, unapproved email for official government business, reported The Federalist.
Gration's "reluctance to accept clear-cut U.S. Government decisions," including governmental security policies, was noted by the inspector general as his "greatest weakness."
The following is an excerpt from the inspector general's report:
"Very soon after the Ambassador's arrival in May 2011, he broadcast his lack of confidence in the information management staff. Because the information management office could not change the Department's policy for handling Sensitive But Unclassified material, he assumed charge of the mission's information management operations. He ordered a commercial Internet connection installed in his embassy office bathroom so he could work there on a laptop not connected to the Department email system. He drafted and distributed a mission policy authorizing himself and other mission personnel to use commercial email for daily communication of official government business. During the inspection, the Ambassador continued to use commercial email for official government business. The Department email system provides automatic security, record-keeping, and backup functions as required. The Ambassador's requirements for use of commercial email in the office and his flouting of direct instructions to adhere to Department policy have placed the information management staff in a conundrum: balancing the desire to be responsive to their mission leader and the need to adhere to Department regulations and government information security standards. The Ambassador compounded the problem on several occasions by publicly berating members of the staff, attacking them personally, loudly questioning their competence, and threatening career-ending disciplinary actions. These actions have sapped the resources and morale of a busy and understaffed information management staff as it supports the largest embassy in sub-Saharan Africa."
While Clinton said on Tuesday that her use of a private email address was permitted, she didn't say if anyone specifically approved it, noted Politico. And while Clinton's home server and hosted email address may have been approved and secured for official use, it seems unlikely that she received approval to host her domain through a consumer grade registrar that was hacked in 2010.
Either way, "general policy" guidelines issued by the State Department in 2005 said "normal day-to-day operations [should] be conducted on an authorized" department system, according to Politico. Last week, officials said the policy only applied to information considered "sensitive but unclassified," but according to other department reports and a diplomatic cable, the policy was a general directive.
