Revealed: Hillary Clinton Ignored This Question From Congressional Investigators Two Years Ago

Congressional investigators asked Hillary Clinton about her email usage in a letter two years ago, but the Democratic presidential candidate ignored the inquiry, according to a report by The New York Times.

The Times, which obtained the letters sent to Clinton, reported that she did not reply to a 2012 letter asking if she had used a private email account while serving as secretary of state.

Hillary Clinton speaks about the situation in Syria after meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, prior to remarks about U.S. efforts to combat wildlife trafficking at a White House forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC on September 9, 2013. (AFP/Getty Images)

The State Department, however, replied to the letter from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in March 2013, but also ignored that specific question.

“Have you or any senior agency official ever used a personal email account to conduct official business?” Issa wrote to Clinton, according to the Times. “If so, please identify the account used.”

“Does the agency require employees to certify on a periodic basis or at the end of their employment with the agency they have turned over any communications involving official business that they have sent or received using nonofficial accounts?” Issa also asked.

A spokesperson for the State Department refused to directly answer to the Times why no one answered Issa's question about whether Clinton used a personal email.

“The department responds to thousands of congressional inquiries and requests for information each year,” spokesman Alec Gerlach told the newspaper. “In its March 2013 letter, the department responded to the House Oversight Committee’s inquiry into the department’s ‘policies and practices regarding the use of personal email and other forms of electronic communications’ with a letter that described those policies in detail.”

Clinton's aide told the Times in a statement that "her usage was widely known to the over 100 department and U.S. government colleagues she emailed, as her address was visible on every email she sent.”

It was revealed last month that Clinton exclusively used a private email address to conduct all business as secretary of state.

After the emails were subpoenaed by Congress, the Democratic presidential contender deleted them from her personal server.

—

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter