A Marine accused of mishandling classified information for warning troops in Afghanistan about the threat of an insider attack is being held to an "excessively high standard," compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a prominent lawmaker argues.
Rep. Duncan Hunter is asking the Marine Corps to reconsider discharging Maj. Jason Brezler, who used his personal email account in 2012 to send a classified briefing document to an officer at a U.S. base in Afghanistan about an Afghan police chief, who had recently arrived at the base. Shortly afterward, a boy working as a servant for the police chief killed three Marines on the base.
Hunter, R-Calif., believes the FBI's recent decision not to recommend that Clinton be prosecuted for sending and receiving classified information using a personal email address hosted by private servers sets a precedent that applies to the Brezler case.
"The FBI's inaction toward Clinton sends a clear signal that Major Brezler should not be held to a different or excessively high standard and reaffirms that he acted with right intent, compared to Clinton, who acted purposefully and in her own self-interest," Hunter wrote in a letter Monday to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller.
Brezler has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a board of inquiry's decision in December 2013 to discharge him for sending the email and taking classified documents home from Afghanistan for a book he plans to write. The Marine Corps has delayed Brezler's discharge until October to allow a federal judge to make a decision in the case.
Navy investigators found 107 classified files on Brezler's computer and external hard drive, some of which were referenced in his book manuscript, but Hunter asked Neller to consider some mitigating factors. Only 18 files were submitted for a security review, of which 13 contained some form of classified information.
"The hard drive contained no top secret, special compartmented or special access program information," Hunter wrote. "There is no evidence that anyone had access to the documents without authorization. There is no indication that Major Brezler was not authorized to have the information. There was no classification determination on Brezler's unpublished manuscript. None of the documents in Major Brezler's hard drive were referenced in this unpublished manuscript."
The Marine Corps is not commenting on the Brezler case while the lawsuit is pending.
"While the decision by the FBI related to Clinton should in no way excuse the intentional mishandling or misuse of classified information, the FBI's judgment and articulation should help the Marine Corps put the facts into better perspective," Hunter wrote.
