State Department officials cut out embarrassing passages of a report before publishing it during Hillary Clinton's last days as secretary of state.

Earlier drafts of the final document reveal details about the "undue influence" that is mentioned only briefly in the published version released to the public the month Clinton left office, February of 2013.

The Washington Examiner obtained a dozen drafts of the report that revealed officials under Harold Geisel, the temporary inspector general during Clinton's four-year tenure, let sections be edited out in late 2012.

The deleted information gave details of several investigations stymied by high-level staff in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

A draft dated Nov. 16, 2012 contained several passages that explained the extent of interference in investigations from staff in Clinton's office.

"Sources reported that a senior '7th Floor' Department official ordered [diplomatic security] to stop the investigation of an ambassador accused of pedophilia, and another such senior official had [diplomatic security] stop an investigation of an ambassador-designate," the report said.

The seventh floor is often used as a reference to the secretary's office, as it is physically located on that level of the State Department building.

Another deleted passage refers to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security being caught "circling the wagons to protect favored ... rising stars from criminal charges or from embarrassing revelations that could harm a promising career."

Another section of the November 16 draft which never made it into the final draft, describes an incident in which Clinton's own security team was involved.



"[Special investigations division] investigators repeatedly expressed concern that they and many of the [diplomatic security] employees they investigate all work in the same Department annex, SA-20...Some [special investigations division] investigators pointedly carry their own firearms constantly while in SA-20, fearing a nasty elevator confrontation. Several recommended that ... [special investigation division]'s physical location should be away from SA-20, both in the spirit of investigative independence and to remove the threat of violent confrontations."

A draft dated Nov. 28, 2012 reveals the internal struggle to decide which information should be kept in the document as the watchdog whittled down its sensational findings. Handwritten notes question why certain passages "need to be deleted," as typed comments in the margins suggested.

The State Department has refused repeated requests for comment on the drafts.

The Examiner has now published two drafts online. Many of the others are very similar as edits and notes were added over time.

Nov. 16 2012 OIG Version



