Report: Intelligence officials walk back claim Clinton emails were 'top secret'

By Sarah Westwood, Sarah Westwood

Published December 20, 2015

Top intelligence officials are walking back their claim that Hillary Clinton's private emails contained information classified up to "top secret," the finding earlier this year that triggered an FBI investigation into Clinton's private server.

The inspector general for the intelligence community had said at least two emails in a small sample he had been permitted to review contained top secret material, but recently ruled against that statement and sided with the State Department officials who had disputed the finding from the beginning, according to a Politico report.

The discovery of potentially top secret information prompted the FBI to take custody of Clinton's private server in August and has been the primary driver of criticism over her handling of sensitive information in her emails.

Clinton has repeatedly defended her use of a private email server by claiming nothing she sent or received was "marked classified at the time."