“There’s no question” Hillary Clinton committed a crime, says former Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney Shannen Coffin, provided that Clinton retained thousands of emails on her home server after signing a required separation statement at the end of her employment at the State Department.
Every employee of the State Department is required to sign a document called the SF-109 STATE-USIA Separation Form upon the end of their employment with the department.
If Hillary signed this document, it makes a difference, to borrow a phrase.
The document requires that employees certify they “surrendered to responsible officials all unclassified documents and papers relating to the official business of the Government acquired by [the employee] while in the employ of the Department or USIA.”
Crucially, the document states:
“I have surrendered … all classified… documents and material with which I was charged … and I am not retaining in my possession…documents or material containing classified … information furnished to me during the course of such employment …”
And warns:
“I have been advised by the interviewing officer whose signature appears below and fully understand that Section 1001 of Title 18, United States Code, provides criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully falsifying or concealing material fact in a statement or document submitted to any department or agency of the United States Government concerning a matter under its jurisdiction.”
“The form itself says, 'Hey, before you sign this understand that you are certifying something that we can prosecute you for.' Making a false statement in this context, knowingly and willfully, which I can't imagine anything more knowing and willful than knowing you have 55,000 records sitting in your home, if you do that, it is a felony punishable under 18 U.S.C. 1001," Coffin said to Megyn Kelly on her FOX show last night.
Departing officials must also “ensure that all record material that they possess is incorporated in the Department’s official files and that all file searches for which they have been tasked have been completed, such as those required to respond to FOIA, Congressional, or litigation-related documents requests,” according to the State Department’s records management handbook.
So far, the State Department has not confirmed to “The Kelly File” whether Hillary signed the Form OF-109 that all employees are required to sign.
UPDATE: State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki refused to answer at today's press briefing whether Hillary Clinton had signed the separation agreement.