Former State Department officials explain why the Clinton email 'scandal' is ridiculous

Hillary Clinton, then the secretary of state, checking
her PDA upon leaving Malta for Tripoli, Libya, in 2011.

According to the State Department, Hillary Clinton's use of a personalized email address during her time as secretary of state was no secret.

"The State Department has long had access to a wide array of Secretary Clinton's records — including emails between her and Department officials with state.gov accounts," State Department Deputy Spokesperon Marie Harf said in an email to Business Insider.

Business Insider asked the State Department about Clinton's use of private email in response to a New York Times article published Monday evening that said Clinton's use of a personal address "may have violated federal requirements that officials' correspondence be retained as part of the agency's record." The Times further reported "her aides took no actions to have her personal emails preserved on department servers at the time."

Some observers have cast the story as a "scandal" for Clinton, who is widely expected to run for president in 2016. Clinton has already faced accusations she is insufficiently transparent, and the email story has already been tied to that narrative. However, Clinton's team pointed to former State Department officials who defended her use of a personal email address and dismissed potential concerns. READ MORE