She was using an UNSECURED, UNENCRYPTED server on the Internet. She violated Federal law related to handling of classified material. If you need the specific laws she broke, I also have them. I worked for the gov. information management and I do know the law. Excusing her because of who she is, is not productive for our country. She should be held accountable just as any other employee of the U.S. government. I have seen employees severely punished as a result of negligent mishandling of classified material. As a matter of fact, it even takes a specific type of shredder to destroy some levels of classified material. So, in my opinion excusing her is not an option. She violated some very serious laws and rules that jeopardized national security and could have or might have damaged our national integrity. Anyone that has ever worked in IT knows how serious this issue is.