--- description: Officials reviewing private emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found information considered to be more than "top secret" title: Hillary Clinton Emails: Information Found to Exceed 'Top Secret' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c9b45e956af7fe/69887950a988ca22a36b6239/gettyimages-473979902.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hillary Clinton Emails Found to Contain Information Classified as More Than 'Top Secret'  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2016 12:56 PM CUT  Hillary Clinton was the subject of criticism at the Republican presidential debate on Thursday. Hillary Clinton was the subject of criticism at the Republican presidential debate on Thursday.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2016 12:56 PM CUT Officials reviewing emails on the private computer server used by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found information considered to be more than “top secret,” according to a letter sent to lawmakers last week by intelligence officials. Some of the email information was determined to be “top secret/SAP,” which refers to “special access programs” that are often intelligence-gathering programs run by the Pentagon and C.I.A., [according to reports by the New York _Times_.](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/politics/hillary-clinton-email-said-to-include-material-exceeding-top-secret.html?em%5Fpos=large&emc=edit%5Fnn%5F20160120&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=70158359&%5Fr=1 "undefined") **_Read more:_**[_Read the 6 Most Interesting Hillary Clinton Emails_](http://time.com/4056800/read-the-6-most-interesting-hillary-clinton-emails/ "undefined") [Clinton has faced scrutiny](http://time.com/4051264/hillary-clinton-says-she-has-been-as-open-as-possible-over-emails/ "undefined") over the revelation that she used a private email server while she was Secretary of State. She previously said confidential data was [never put at risk](http://time.com/4066029/clinton-email-hackers/ "undefined"). “This is the same interagency dispute that has been playing out for months, and it does not change the fact that these emails were not classified at the time they were sent or received,” Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, told the _Times_. \[[New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/us/politics/hillary-clinton-email-said-to-include-material-exceeding-top-secret.html?em%5Fpos=large&emc=edit%5Fnn%5F20160120&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=70158359&%5Fr=1 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4186530/hillary-clinton-emails-top-secret-intelligence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4186530/hillary-clinton-emails-top-secret-intelligence/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton Emails Found to Contain Information Classified as More Than 'Top Secret'","datePublished":"2016-01-20T12:56:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:16:29.454Z","description":"The finding is the latest development in the controversy over Clinton's emails","url":"https://time.com/4186530/hillary-clinton-emails-top-secret-intelligence/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c9b45e956af7fe/69887950a988ca22a36b6239/gettyimages-473979902.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c9b45e956af7fe/69887950a988ca22a36b6239/gettyimages-473979902.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton Campigns In Iowa, Meeting With Small Business Owners","caption":"Hillary Clinton was the subject of criticism at the Republican presidential debate on Thursday.","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4186530/hillary-clinton-emails-top-secret-intelligence/","name":"Hillary Clinton Emails Found to Contain Information Classified as More Than 'Top Secret'"}}]}] ```