Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) released the following statement on the State Department inspector general report on email use within the State Department:

“The report by the State Department inspector general says nothing new, but it does reinforce what we already know—that previous employees at State established the precedent of using personal email for official activities and that Secretary Clinton was in fact more transparent because she willingly turned her emails over for review.

“The report found more than 90 State Department personnel under Secretary Rice and Secretary Powell used personal email dating back to 2001. And while Secretary Powell also used personal email, Secretary Clinton is the only Secretary of State to make those emails public.

“As I’ve said in the past, there’s a systemic pattern to how email has been used at the State Department and weaknesses in retention practices. It’s time for Republicans to put an end to the political pursuit of Secretary Clinton and work on fixing the broader recordkeeping problems that have existed for many years.

“It’s interesting to me that news stories I’ve seen don’t focus more on the report’s conclusion on its final page.”

The report’s conclusion, from page 42:

“Longstanding, systemic weaknesses related to electronic records and communications have existed within the Office of the Secretary that go well beyond the tenure of any one Secretary of State. OIG recognizes that technology and Department policy have evolved considerably since Secretary Albright’s tenure began in 1997. Nevertheless, the Department generally and the Office of the Secretary in particular have been slow to recognize and to manage effectively the legal requirements and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic data communications, particularly as those risks pertain to its most senior leadership. OIG expects that its recommendations will move the Department steps closer to meaningfully addressing these risks.”