Paul Ryan Wants Clinton Blocked From Classified Hearings

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said he wants presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton restricted from hearings where classified information is being discussed.

On July 6, Ryan wrote a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asking him to restrict Clinton from hearings in light of the findings from an FBI investigation into her handling of classified information on her private servers during her time as Secretary of State.

“As you know, the FBI’s investigation of Secretary Clinton’s unauthorized personal email found substantial evidence that Secretary Clinton and her staff were ‘extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information,’” Ryan wrote, quoting FBI Director James Comey’s July 5 statement. “In addition, Director Comey’s findings directly contradicted previous statements made by Secretary Clinton that she did not send or receive classified information. ‘Even if information is not marked ‘classified’ in an e-mail,’ Comey stated, ‘participants who know or should know that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it.’”

In the letter, which was published in whole on Politico, Ryan said that, as a former Vice Presidential nominee with Mitt Romney in 2012, he is aware that Clinton will be given classified information hearings if she officially secures the nomination after the Democratic National Convention. And he urged Clapper to reconsider.

“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 wrote.

He added: “I firmly believe this is necessary to reassure the public that our nation’s secrets are secure.”

Ryan also wrote to the FBI, asking that the organization “release all of the unclassified findings from its investigation” into Clinton’s handling of classified information, reported the Washington Examiner.