(Cyberwar.news) Nearly 1,300 emails from Hillary Clinton’s private unsecured server that she used during her stint as secretary of state have been deemed classified after the State Department released its eight batch late in the day New Year’s Eve, Politico reported.

The department released about 5,500 pages of emails from the private email account Clinton used during her four years as President Obama’s top diplomat. An addition 275 messages have been upgraded to classified, bringing the total number of classified emails to 1,274 – all emails that moved through Clinton unsecured personal server, which was located in her home in New York.

A State Department official told Politico that most of the messages were elevated to the “confidential” level. Two emails in the most recent batch were upgraded to “Secret,” a more sensitive classification used for issues of national security.

After Clinton’s email scandal broke in March she claimed that there was no classified material that passed through her private account. But since that initial claim was debunked, she has said that she did not send any classified information and that no emails she sent or received were marked sensitive or classified.

Despite the release of the 5,500 pages, that was far short of the court-ordered amount of 43,000 pages by year’s end, which State blamed on the holiday season.

“We have worked diligently to come as close to the goal as possible, but with the large number of documents involved and the holiday schedule we have not met the goal this month,” said the department, which is still some 2,000 pages short of the court-ordered goal.

• More: Senior State Department staff also used personal email to send “sensitive” data

Attorneys for the State Department said they will most likely have to appear before a federal judge next week to explain the failure to reach the ordered goal.

As Cyberwar.news reported, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has also admitted that he has used private email while in office.

The rap on Clinton’s use of a personal unsecured server is that it was very likely targeted for hacking by foreign governments.

National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers told the Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that if a rival nation’s foreign minister kept a private email server, it would be a great “opportunity” for U.S. intelligence services.

Also, federal law prescribes rules for handling top secret and other classified materials, rules mandating protection of such materials that Clinton would have had to have agreed, in writing, before taking her post.

“As the nation’s chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that “negligent handling” of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job,” the Washington Free Beacon reported Nov. 6.

“A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for ‘any unauthorized disclosure’ of classified information,” the news site continued.

The FBI is currently conducting an investigation into whether Clinton violated federal law in her handling of classified information. If FBI Director James Comey recommends prosecution, it will ultimately be up to President Obama to decide whether he will permit the Justice Department to actually charge her.

• Sign up below for email alerts from Cyberwar.news so you never miss a story!

See also:

Politico

Cyberwar.news

Washington Free Beacon