The key questions remain unanswered. The State Department’s explanation of why Hillary Clinton did not sign the Separation Statement that every other State Department employee is required to sign upon resignation is quickly approaching the farcical. In Wednesday’s daily press briefing, State Department spokesperson and Hillary Clinton spinmeister Jen Psaki offered a new take on why Mrs. Clinton was excused from signing the form:
“Secretaries of state often do not sign this form, as it is a step to revoking their own security clearance. There’s a long tradition of secretaries of state making themselves available to future secretaries and presidents, and secretaries are typically allowed to maintain their security clearance and access to their own records for use in writing their memoirs and the like. Hence, this is not a form that many would have signed.”
Before showing why this explanation is insufficient, let’s start with how it is correct. Psaki is undoubtedly correct that secretaries of state often retain their security clearances (although probably not their clearances into every program) after leaving office. That is probably true with Mrs. Clinton, who might be called upon from time to time to weigh in on an issue with which she has some experience or insight. And there is also some precedent for former secretaries of state being granted access to their official records after they leave office to write their memoirs or for some related purpose. Finally, at least according to Psaki’s prior statements, neither Secretary Condoleezza Rice nor Secretary Colin Powell signed such a statement upon leaving the Department