Sen. Tom Cotton, (R-Ark.) called out Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as "reckless" over email discussions that were received on her private email server about an Iranian scientist who was executed last week.
Cotton said Clinton was “reckless and careless” with email information about Shahram Amiri after an aide sent it in 2010 via the private email server in her New York home. Amiri is believed to have given some information on some of Iran’s nuclear program to the United States.
Cotton said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” "I'm not going to comment on what he may or may not have done for the United States government, but in the emails that were on Hillary Clinton's private server, there were conversations among her senior advisors about this gentleman.”
Amiri was convicted in Iran of spying for the United States and was hanged last week, according to the Associated Press.
Amiri defected to the United States, according to U.S. officials, but then returned to Iran where he was hailed as a hero in 2010. He disappear not long afterwards.
The AP reported:
Amiri's case indirectly found its way back into the spotlight in the U.S. last year with the release of State Department emails sent and received by Clinton, now the Democratic presidential candidate. The release of those emails came amid criticism of Clinton's use of a private account and server that has persisted into her campaign against Republican candidate Donald Trump.
An email forwarded to Clinton by senior adviser Jake Sullivan on July 5, 2010 - just nine days before Amiri returned to Tehran - appears to reference the scientist.
"We have a diplomatic, 'psychological' issue, not a legal one. Our friend has to be given a way out," the email by Richard Morningstar, a former State Department special envoy for Eurasian energy, read. "Our person won't be able to do anything anyway. If he has to leave, so be it."
Another email, sent by Sullivan on July 12, 2010, appears to obliquely refer to the scientist just hours before his appearance at the Pakistani Embassy became widely known.
"The gentleman ... has apparently gone to his country's interests section because he is unhappy with how much time it has taken to facilitate his departure," Sullivan wrote. "This could lead to problematic news stories in the next 24 hours."
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Amiri appeared in a video, posted June 29, 2010, saying he escaped from U.S. custody. He went to the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., which houses an Iranian interests section. He said in the video he wanted to return to Iran.
Clinton confirmed in a news conference soon after reports that Amiri was in the United States. Clinton said Amiri was able to leave the country if he wanted, as he had arrived, "of his own free will and he is free to go. These are decisions that are his alone to make."
Cotton pointed to the emails as an example of what he called Clinton's careless behavior when it comes to national security.
"That goes to show just how reckless and careless her decision was to put that kind of highly classified information on a private server. And I think her judgment is not suited to keep this country safe," he said.
Watch Sen. Cotton's interview with Fox News below.
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