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#TBT: GOP’s record on sensitive information

Representative Trey Gowdy, a Republican from South Carolina and chairman of the House Benghazi Committee, and other members of the committee listen to a question from a reporter after a closed interview with Bryan Pagliano, a former U.S. State Department employee, not pictured, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015. Pagliano, who reportedly assisted in work on Hillary Clinton's private e-mail when she was Secretary of State, asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to testify before the Republican-led House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Throwing it back on this Thursday, a quick look at Republicans’ not-so-strong record when it comes to sensitive and even classified information.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz

Jason Chaffetz has his personal gmail address on his business card. “Hillary Clinton isn’t the only official who uses a non-government email address. A business card obtained by ABC News shows that Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, lists his Gmail address on his official House card. After it was revealed on Tuesday that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conducted all of her government business from personal email accounts, personal email has been the topic du jour, and Chaffetz is at the forefront. Chaffetz, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced Tuesday that his panel would join in an investigation of Clinton’s email use.  ‘Violations of the Federal Records Act within federal agencies is something we take very seriously,’ Chaffetz said Tuesday in a statement. ‘The House Oversight Committee will work with [Rep. Trey] Gowdy and the Select Committee on Benghazi to further explore Hillary Clinton’s use of personal emails while at the State Department.’ Chaffetz told ABC News that his business card was not paid for with government funds and that Congress is not subject to the Federal Records Act. He said that he uses both a Gmail account and a government email account.”

House Oversight Committee Republicans

The House Oversight Committee Republicans, during a hearing on the attacks on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, revealed classified information.

Rep. Trey Gowdy

“Gowdy appears to accidentally release CIA source’s name”

Sen. Chuck Grassley

Sen. Grassley suggested “political interference” in its investigation should prompt the FBI “to leak” information to damage Hillary Clinton politically. “A hypothetical leak could occur, he said, if officials believed Clinton was not being prosecuted for political reasons. ‘Is there going to be political interference? If there’s enough evidence to prosecute, will there be political interference?’ the Iowa senator asked during a meeting on Friday with the Des Moines A.M. Rotary club, according to a report in the Des Moines Register. ‘And if there’s political interference, then I assume that somebody in the FBI is going to leak these reports and it’s either going to have an effect politically or it’s going to lead to prosecution if there’s enough evidence,’ he said.”

In March, Grassley suggested that the FBI could leak information if the investigation did not lead to an indictment and embarrass the administration. “GRASSLEY: Well, here’s what I think you got to start with, first of all Comey’s got a tenured term. Secondly, you’ve got to realize that in a Bush administration he was asked to do something that he thought was on illegal or unconstitutional and he decided to resign, so I think he’s got a good reputation. The FBI’s got a good reputation. And if they give enough evidence that she ought to be indicted and she’s not indicted then I think something’s going to be leaked from the FBI and the administration’s going to be embarrassed.”

During a February town hall, Grassley stated his belief that “you’re going to get something leaked about how bad she may have been” if the Department of Justice fails to prosecute Clinton. “Let’s suppose that for political reasons they don’t want to do it [prosecute Clinton] even if there’s a lot of stuff against her, but this isn’t made public then you don’t know. But it seems to me that you’re going to get something leaked about how bad she may have been or may turn out to be and then there will be political pressure to prosecute. Or in the meantime, you could have a situation where the Attorney General would say it’s too politically hot, I’m going to appoint a special counsel. And then you put it off for another, I don’t know how long.”

  • Sen. Harry Reid: “It’s wrong for any senator…to urge a selective leaking of any federal investigation.” “It’s wrong for any senator, especially the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who deals with these issues day after day, to urge a selective leaking of any federal investigation. The FBI isn’t in the business of disclosing information to appease political operatives.”

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