From Davenport, Iowa -
As Hillary Clinton arrived in this Mississippi River town for a Friday evening rally with her husband, the former President, a new controversy had erupted over the release of emails she wrote while Secretary of State, as the State Department said almost two dozen emails would never be released because they contained "Top Secret" information.
The news, first reported by the Associated Press, seemed likely to spur fresh interest in the email story, just days before the Iowa Caucus.
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
A spokesman for Hillary Clinton's campaign frowned on the news from the State Department, saying federal officials had wrongly classified information that was found on Clinton's home email server, which she used while Secretary of State.
But to Republicans, this was not "classification run amok" - but rather more evidence that Clinton may be in legal trouble.
"It sounds like that might be an indication that she has broken the law, if the emails are so sensitive they are not going to be able to release them," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told me after a rally in Davenport.
"I think it indicates that she did not have enough respect for national security to follow the law," Paul added.
"If there was any doubt about whether Clinton discussed some of the government’s most highly classified information on her secret email server can now be cast aside," the Republican National Committee added in a statement to reporters.
The revelations came just hours before what was supposed to be the last email release by the State Department of Clinton emails that rested on her home server.
Originally, the State Department wanted to release all of those emails early this year - but a federal judge ordered a monthly release, which has fueled more criticism of Clinton's private email account while Secretary of State.
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