Why did Hillary Clinton rely on 'home-brew' e-mail server?
How extensive was Hillary Rodham Clinton鈥檚 use of personal e-mail during her tenure as secretary of State? Let鈥檚 put it this way: She apparently had more than just a personal account. She had an entire personal e-mail system.
That鈥檚 what the , in any case. An AP investigation found that the computer server that handled Mrs. Clinton鈥檚 e-mail traced back to an Internet service registered to her home in Chappaqua, N.Y.
It鈥檚 unclear who ran this infrastructure, write AP reporters Jack Gillum and Ted Bridis. They traced it to a 鈥渕ysterious entity, Eric Hoteham.鈥� It鈥檚 possible this is a pseudonym, since the name doesn鈥檛 appear in any public databases.
鈥淓ric Hoteham鈥� is listed as the customer at the Clinton house address in Internet registration records. On Wednesday, social media went nuts as self-appointed detectives tried to figure out whether Eric Hoteham was a real person or an anagram or some other symbolic combination.
As the conservative website Twitchy quickly noted, the letters in the name can be rearranged into a number of other phrases, among them 鈥渙ath crime, eh?鈥� and 鈥淗i come hater.鈥�
鈥淲hat does 鈥楨ric Hoteham鈥� really mean? Twitter sleuths are on it!鈥� .
Wordplay aside, why would Clinton go so far as to rely on her own physical computers to handle her e-mail traffic? After all, she probably was not relaxing from the stress of being secretary of State by writing her own code.
Well, more control is one obvious feature here. Her husband is an ex-president and she hopes to be one in the future. Over the decades, the Clintons may have decided they can rely only on themselves for security and discretion in communications. They鈥檝e long felt under attack from what Mrs. Clinton once labeled a 鈥渧ast right-wing conspiracy.鈥�
After all, Mr. Clinton鈥檚 affair with intern Monica Lewinsky became a matter of public concern almost by accident, as Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr learned of the relationship while investigating other matters, including the Clintons' involvement in the failed Whitewater land deal in Arkansas.
But this example also points out the obvious negative implication for Clinton of the e-mail system revelation. It could easily be interpreted as evidence she has something to hide. That鈥檚 certainly how Clinton鈥檚 critics on the right see it.
鈥淓very American understands plainly what conditions might lead someone to conduct official business on a private email account that is free from oversight, and none of them are virtuous,鈥� .
The legal ramifications of Clinton鈥檚 personal e-mail use aren鈥檛 clear. It鈥檚 possible that relevant rules and regulations weren鈥檛 in place until shortly before the end of her tenure at Foggy Bottom, or even after. That鈥檚 what defenders of her use of her own system say.
鈥淎t the time Clinton was Secretary, the Federal Records Act didn鈥檛 require federal employees to use government accounts, only to preserve records of their communications. This, Clinton seems to have done,鈥� in The Daily Beast.
But at the least, Clinton will be drawn into lengthy litigation as reporters, advocacy groups, and lawmakers question whether she has turned over relevant records pursuant to Freedom of Information Act requests and congressional inquiries.
That said, has an interesting point about this potential mess. Clinton鈥檚 personal e-mail system is just a more organized method of avoiding transparency than the methods used by other Washington politicians, he says.
If people have something sensitive to say in D.C., they don鈥檛 put it in an e-mail. They call. If they don鈥檛 want their phone records subpoenaed, they arrange a meeting. If they don鈥檛 want the meeting to show up in official logbooks, they make sure it鈥檚 not on the grounds of the White House or other government buildings.
鈥淐linton deserves the opprobrium she鈥檚 getting. But she鈥檚 just an extreme example of a widespread problem,鈥� .
