Clinton's New Email Fuss is No Scandal

Just watch.

Here's the situation. The intelligence community's inspector general reviewed a small subset of Clinton emails and found a significant portion -- four out of 40 -- that contained classified information, material that a spokeswoman said was classified at the time. The State Department says it has examined a larger number of emails -- more than 2,000 -- and found none with information that was classified at the time, although some material was classified retroactively.

In any event, there is no evidence that Clinton herself had, or should have had, any inkling about the classification.

"We note that none of the emails we reviewed had classification or dissemination markings, but some included [intelligence community]-derived classified information and should have been handled as classified, appropriately marked, and transmitted via a secure network," the intelligence inspector general, I. Charles McCullough III, wrote to Congress last week.

McCullough's letter reveals that he referred the matter to, among other agencies, the FBI. This is a routine matter when there is indication that classified material has been mishandled -- not a sign that anything nefarious has transpired.

Moreover, if the Clinton emails did contain classified material, this would be a problem no matter whether she used a nonclassified government account or a private email address. Both are, sadly, hackable. The rules require classified material -- when the person knows or should know that it's classified -- to be dealt with in classified facilities, or on adequately secured devices and networks.

Not that any of this matters much. The classified-information-put-at-risk narrative is too delicious for Republicans to resist, and helps keep the email story alive. This is a political problem for Clinton, but it isn't, on the strength of the evidence so far, anywhere close to a legal one.

By way of comparison, take a look at the plea deal reached by Gen. David Petraeus for mishandling classified information. (Incidentally, he and Clinton share a lawyer, David Kendall.)

The former CIA director acknowledged that he gave biographer/mistress Paula Broadwell personal notebooks containing highly classified information including the identities of covert officers, intelligence capabilities and conversations with the president, then stored them in an unlocked desk drawer at his home, even as he assured security officials that he had no classified material in his possession.

That was criminal conduct. Clinton's isn't. Not even close.

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Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.