Regarding Clinton's emails being seemingly less sensitive: "In one case, according to media reports, one of Clinton’s potentially classified e-mail exchanges is

Regarding Clinton's emails being seemingly less sensitive: "In one case, according to media reports, one of Clinton’s potentially classified e-mail exchanges is nothing more than a discussion of a newspaper story about drones. That such a discussion could be classified underlines the absurdity of the current system. But that is the system that exists, and if and when the agencies determine that she sent or received classified information through her private server, Clinton will be accused of mishandling national-security secrets." [1] I'm not sure we know much more about the contents of Clinton's emails. I think it's safe to assume some were as "highly classified" as the things Petraeus disclosed. I don't think the law cares, or should care, about whether it's mundane stuff about drones or North Korea's nuclear program, or if it's about covert agents' identities -- if it's classified, it's simply illegal to disclose it to unauthorized persons or through unauthorized channels like a personal email server. It doesn't matter whether your reason is so that your mistress can write your biography, or so that your colleague can do their job, or so that you can use a Blackberry to access your email -- doing it the wrong way is mishandling C.I no matter your intent. (But I'm not a lawyer.) I'm all for punishing Petraeus harder btw, as he got off pretty easily for what was practically treason with his mistress! But if keeping "books [with top-secret information] in an unlocked drawer in his study"[2] is part of the grounds for his eventual conviction of mishandling CI, so is Clinton's keeping it on a personal, not-well-secured server in her home. [1] http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/hillarys-problem-the-government-classifies-everything http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/hillarys-problem... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/petraeus-set-to-plead-guilty-to-mishandling-classified-materials/2015/04/22/3e6dbf20-e8f5-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/petra...