[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 36 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1302-S1303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CALLING FOR APPOINTMENT OF A SPECIAL COUNSEL

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I have come to the floor several times 
to talk about the ongoing investigation into the private email server 
of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
  While serving as the top diplomat for the United States, she plainly 
believed she could play by her own set of rules. Instead of using a 
government server with all of the attendant protections from cyber 
attacks and intelligence gathering by our adversaries, Secretary 
Clinton paid a staffer thousands of dollars to set up a private, 
unsecure

[[Page S1303]]

email server at her home in New York. So it is pretty clear, based on 
published reports, that Secretary Clinton went out of her way by paying 
money out of her own pocket to avoid important laws that Congress has 
passed to guarantee that the American people actually know what their 
government is doing. I am talking particularly about the Freedom of 
Information Act.
  I haven't heard of any other example of someone in the Federal 
Government--accountable to the people of the United States--setting up 
a separate private email server just to conduct official business, not 
to mention the Secretary of State. It is simply unprecedented.
  Her actions also put our country at risk, as her private email server 
was reportedly unsecure. We have heard time and again from those in the 
intelligence community that her use of an unsecure, private email 
server left her emails--some highly classified--vulnerable to hacking 
and cyber attack from our Nation's enemies.
  We may never know the full extent to which her irresponsible actions 
have affected our military endeavors, our diplomatic efforts, our 
overall national security or the lives and safety of those who serve in 
the intelligence community or are in harm's way trying to keep our 
country safe. We don't know to what extent her recklessness and 
irresponsibility have jeopardized the lives of people who are engaged 
in keeping our country safe. We do know that it has jeopardized the 
security of our country at large.
  To this day, Secretary Clinton refuses to accept full responsibility 
for her actions and denies the serious nature of the FBI's ongoing 
investigation, calling it only a ``security review.'' Well, it is 
pretty clear that the Justice Department is doing an investigation. 
Just this last week, it was reported that the Justice Department 
granted immunity to the staffer who set up Secretary Clinton's server. 
So this further confirms that Secretary Clinton is misrepresenting to 
the public when this inquiry is dismissed as some routine ``security 
review.''
  We don't grant immunity from criminal prosecution to someone in order 
to gain their cooperation to testify in a case where they otherwise 
would claim the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. That 
is why immunity is granted--so they no longer can claim a belief that 
they might be prosecuted for being a witness against themselves. That 
is why immunity is granted.
  So this indicates what I have said all along, which is that this is a 
serious investigation that may determine that classified information 
has been mishandled--a serious crime. The Justice Department should 
pursue this case as aggressively as it would any other case involving 
any other person where there has been concern about the mishandling of 
classified information because the American people deserve nothing 
less.
  Secretary Clinton is not just some random citizen or former 
government employee; she was a member of this President's Cabinet and 
Secretary of State. In light of this extraordinary case and the 
unavoidable myriad of conflicts of interest, I have called repeatedly 
on the Attorney General to appoint a special counsel to fully and 
fairly conduct the investigation. It is not just important that a 
thorough and independent investigation be conducted; it is important 
that the American people have confidence and believe that a fair and 
independent investigation is being conducted. One simply can't reach 
that conclusion, given the fact that the Attorney General, who is the 
political appointee of this President and who serves at his pleasure, 
is loathe to have this investigation proceed, and I will get to that in 
a moment. The President has inappropriately made comments while this 
investigation is ongoing. I asked the Attorney General last fall--she 
is the only one who can make this decision--to appoint a special 
counsel to give some semblance of independence from the political 
operation at the Department of Justice and the White House. 
Unfortunately, almost 6 months later, no independent counsel has been 
appointed. I think the necessity for such a person to be appointed is 
even more critical than ever.

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