Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with FOX News host Dana Perino on Friday that he has the Hillary Clinton emails and will release them publicly before the election.
“We’ve got the e-mails,” Pompeo told Perino. “We’re getting them out. We’re going to get all this information out, so the American people can see it. You will remember, there was classified information on a private server. It should have never been there. Hillary Clinton should never have done that.”
“I certainly think there will be more to see before the election,” Pompeo said of the emails.
PERINO: Well, and he was talking about you a little bit yesterday as well on “Mornings with Maria,” he — expressing some frustration about these Hillary Clinton e-mails that are not declassified yet or released yet.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They’re in the State Department. But Mike Pompeo has been unable to get them out, which is very sad, actually. I’m not happy about him for that, that reason.
He was unable to get them out. I don’t know why. You’re running the State Department, you get them out. Forget about the fact that they were classified. Let’s go. Maybe Mike Pompeo finally finds them, OK?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PERINO: And then, just now on “Rush Limbaugh,” he had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She deleted 33,000 e-mails. She should be in jail for that. I don’t even care if they’re — if they’re very highly confidential e-mails. I don’t care what.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERINO: So, what is the state of this investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mails at the State Department?
POMPEO: So, Dana, you will remember, I was close to this even when I was a member of Congress, when I served on the Benghazi committee, now what seems like a little bit of time ago.
We have got the e-mails. We’re getting them out. We’re going to get all this information out, so the American people can see it. You will remember, there was classified information on a private server. It should have never been there. Hillary Clinton should never have done that.
And it was unacceptable behavior. It’s not the kind of thing that leaders do. They don’t put that kind of information out. And you can see, whether it’s Russia, or China, or Iran, or the North Koreans, who want to get their hands on this kind of information, classified information needs to stay in the right places.
Secretary Clinton, when she was here at the State Department, did not do that.
PERINO: The president has the authority to declassify anything he wants. All authority is to him. Could he declassify it and order it released, if he wanted to and if he ordered?
POMPEO: Absolutely.
We’re going to get there. We’re going to get this information out, so the American people can see it.
PERINO: If he were to order that, would there be concerns about maybe health and safety of sources and — or methods that could possibly be in these e-mails if there’s classified information?
POMPEO: So, Dana, I have been at this a long time with President Trump, for four years now almost. I have never seen him do anything that would put any kind of asset, any kind of one of our officers in any harm’s way. He wouldn’t do that.
We will get the information out that needs to get out. And we will do it in a way that protects the intelligence sources that we need to protect.
PERINO: And last question on that, will that happen before the election?
POMPEO: Doing it as fast as we can. I certainly — I certainly think there will be more to see before the election.
