Hillary Clinton likely will not face charges over emails she sent using a private email server when she was secretary of state, according to legal experts interviewed by the Associated Press, reports
ABC News.
Laws covering classified materials usually apply to spies and those who illegally have the information. Lawyers say existing laws don't really cover a former secretary of state who exchanged the materials with her aides.
One law that could apply is a misdemeanor that carries up to one year in prison. It involves knowingly removing classified information and keeping it an unauthorized location.
David Petraeus, ex-CIA director, pleaded guilty to that in 2015.
Another law covers "gross negligence" with losing, stealing, destroying or removing national defense information. It was used against Edward Snowden, and is aimed at intentional harm to the U.S., not accidental.
Washington lawyer Brad Moss said mishandling usually results in a revocation of security clearance, not criminal charges.
Former Federal Prosecutor Ronald Sievert, however, said Clinton's private server could amount to gross negligence.
When she was secretary of state between 2009 and 2013, Clinton routed work emails through a private server at her home in New York. The State Department said that a few of those emails contained sensitive information and some have since been labeled top secret.
Clinton has said using a server at her home was a "mistake." She's also said that no emails were classified when she got them. Syracuse University law professor Nathan Sales said the risk to Clinton "might not be legal as much as it is political."
An editorial in
Investors Business Daily called for Clinton to "temporarily" suspend her presidential campaign due to the email controversy.
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