Clinton's server had 'top secret' e-mail

Kirby also stated that 18 emails, that comprise of eight email chains between Clinton and President Barack Obama, were being "withheld in full" to "protect the President's ability to receive unvarnished advice and counsel", However, he said that they "have not been determined to be classified" and that they would "ultimately be released" in accordance with the 1978 Presidential Records Act.

Clinton campaign managers, meanwhile, slammed the State Department's decision and said it is "over-classification run amok".

As she campaigned on Friday, the State Department announced it will withhold seven private email chains of the former Secretary of State because they contain top secret information.

Still, the timing of the State Department announcement, coming just three days before the pivotal Iowa caucuses, and the nature of that announcement seem likely to further complicate a situation that has already caused Clinton and her campaign huge amounts of agita since the existence of her private email server was revealed nearly one year ago to the day.

Since this was during Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, and considering that she had signed two separate non-disclosure agreements, her claims of innocence based on ignorance ring a little hollow.

Possible responses for classification infractions include counseling, warnings or other action, State Department officials said, though they declined to say if these applied to Clinton or senior aides who've since left the department. "You know, you can't get information off the classified system in the State Department to put onto an unclassified system, no matter what that system is".

Hillary Clinton at Grand View University in Des Moines. There were four emails sent from Blumenthal that contained all "classified" information, however, the other dozens of emails contained at least some viewable content. There is absolutely no evidence that I ever sent or received any email marked classified.

The presidential hopeful has admitted that her decision to use a private email server at her NY home was a mistake.

Even as most of the Democratic and Republican rivals crisscrossing Iowa in an attempt to gin-up voter enthusiasm during the crucial Monday's caucuses, Clinton's campaign managers were busy deflecting questions on the email controversy heightening the fears of some of the Democrats who had pinned their hopes on the frontrunner.

Formerly, sensitive information was redacted in the printed messages, but Mr Kirby said the "top secret" e-mails wouldn't be released, even in part.

The former Secretary of State said she didn't take any documents from the classified system because you can't take information off the classified system and put it into an unclassified system. Friday's will be the first at the top secret level. "But after 11 hours of testimony, answering every single question, in public, which I had requested for months, I think it's pretty clear that they're grasping at straws and this will turn out the same way". But without classification markings, that may have been hard, especially if the information was in the public domain. But as is often the case with the Democratic presidential candidate, she dodged the question and gave an inconsistent answer. We also reported last Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is ready to recommend that Mrs. Clinton be indicted for mishandling that classified information, according to Tom DeLay. Security experts assess that as unlikely, and that the vast majority of her emails were preserve d properly for archiving purposes because she corresponded mainly with government accounts. He released a statement saying the legal process shouldn't be politicized.