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Hillary Clinton Emails: Huma Abedin Left Classified Materials In Front Seat Of Vehicle In India

By Tara West
Published on: 08:04 PST, Aug 23, 2016

A new batch of Hillary Clinton emails released by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch reveals more purported instances of improper handling of classified or sensitive information by Clinton and her aides. In the recently discovered email, the then-Secretary of State’s aide, Huma Abedin, sent an email indicating that there was “burn stuff” (aka confidential or sensitive documents) in the front seat of her vehicle that she needed to be moved before an ambassador rode with her in the car. At the time of the email, it appears Abedin was in India, indicating the vehicle in question was parked in an undisclosed Indian location when the sensitive documents were left in the front seat of the vehicle.

The Daily Caller first pointed out the email after looking through the 296 pages of State Department documents released by Judicial Watch. The publication noted that in an email titled “Favor,” Abedin asked Hillary Clinton’s personal assistant, Lauren Jiloty, to move some “burn stuff” from a pocket in the front seat of her vehicle to the trunk.

The email from Abedin to Jiloty noted that she was going to have an ambassador in the vehicle on her next drive and needed some “burn stuff” that was in the front seat put into the trunk. Huma seemed to indicate that the material should be in a more secure location by asking Jiloty to move the items to the trunk.

“I’m going to have ambassador ride on next drive. There’s a bunch of burn stuff in the pocket of my front seat. Can u put in trunk?”

After receiving the email, Jiloty responded, “Yep doing now.” While Huma did not go into detail in the email as to exactly what information was contained in the pile of “burn stuff,” it is noted that the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual has strict guidelines on what materials should be burned. The manual outlines that only classified materials should be put into burn bags.

“Burn bags must contain only the classified material that is to be destroyed. Personal documents, trash, recyclable materials, metal objects (such as binder clips and acco fasteners), string, twine, spiral bindings, cleaning cloths, food, or any other object that is not classified material should not be placed in a burn bag.”

Though the policy reveals that only classified information should be placed in burn bags, a State Department official told The Daily Caller that in some circumstances “sensitive” information may also be placed in burn bags.

“Material disposed of in ‘burn bags’ is not limited to classified information. As the regulations state, Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) and Personally identifiable information (PII) documents are often burned.”

Therefore, at a minimum, it seems that the materials placed in the front seat of Abedin’s vehicle were sensitive in nature or contained personally identifiable information that needed burning. Therefore, many are asking why such sensitive, and potentially classified, information was left in a vehicle parked in India.

It was noted that there is no indication in any of the emails as to where, or how secure, the location was that Abedin’s vehicle was parked at the time of the incident. However, other emails sent at the same time as the “favor” email indicates that Huma and Clinton were in India at the time the message was sent. Other emails sent by Huma Abedin at the time of the email ask about the closest shopping district in which Jiloty replies “santushti” is about a 10-minute drive. New Delhi has a Santushti Shopping Complex which was likely the point of reference in the emails. The State Department website also indicated that Hillary Clinton was in India at the time the email was sent.

Though “classified information” is the intended material for burn bags, Huma has indicated in the past that Clinton frequently burned her schedules after the day was over. In a disposition with the Judicial Watch, Huma indicated it happened a lot and was not out-of-the-norm.

“If there was a schedule that was created that was her Secretary of State daily schedule, and a copy of that was then put in the burn bag, that … that certainly happened on … on more than one occasion.”

With the multi-purpose use of Clinton’s burn bags, only Jiloty and Abedin know the contents of the materials left in the vehicle that day. However, the fact that Abedin asked Jiloty to move the documents to the trunk before the ambassador rode in the vehicle suggests that it is not information that likely should have been left in an unsecured location.

This is not the first time that Abedin has been accused of mishandling classified or sensitive State Department documents. Judicial Watch notes that one email reveals that Huma once left Hillary Clinton’s day bookbinders on her bed in an unlocked hotel room. When asked by Foreign Service Officer Melissa Lan for a copy of the binder, Huma responded her room door was open and that the binder was on her bed.

“Its on the bed in my room. U can take it. My door is open. I’m in ‘lobby. [sic]”

Additionally, Breitbart reports that Abedin revealed Clinton’s State Department travel schedules in full detail on an unsecured email server, potentially putting then Secretary Clinton at risk.

What do you think about the Judicial Watch email release indicating that Hillary Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin may have mishandled sensitive or classified information?

[Photo by Charles Dharapak/AP Photo]

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