The State Department's chief freedom of information officer blasted the use of private email by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as "not acceptable."

Assistant Secretary of State, Joyce Barr, testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary committee about open records laws in the wake of revelations that Clinton employed a personal email address housed on a private server during her time as Secretary of State.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who sits on the senate committee, called Clinton's approach as a "premeditated and deliberate" attempt to avoid open records requirements.

“What really bothers me is when people plan in a premeditated and deliberate sort of way to avoid the Freedom of Information Act and federal government requirements that require them to make public information available to the public. Of course, we're all familiar with the news accounts of what happened with former Secretary Clinton," Cornyn said.

Barr said she had "no information" and "was not aware" that Clinton was operating on a private, personal email server.

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Cornyn pressed Barr and asked if she was concerned that Clinton's email could have been vulnerable to cyber terrorists or hackers.

"Perhaps," Barr responded.

Cornyn then asked if Barr would be concerned if a Cabinet-level official set up a private email account in order to circumvent the freedom of information laws.

"In theory, yes," Barr said.

Barr was among the witnesses before a Senate committee hearing on "Informed Citizenry: Examining the Administration's Efforts to Improve Open Government." Republicans used the hearing to discuss Clinton's use of a private email system for official business during her time as secretary of state.

Clinton's email practices have proved controversial since it was revealed in a New York Times report that questioned whether it violated federal regulations. Her campaign team has repeatedly defended her email usage as secure and within the bounds of regulations. The scandal has cast a shadow over Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, which she launched last month.

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