US declares 22 of Hillary Clinton’s emails ‘top secret’

Hillary Clinton’s unsecured home server contained 22 emails deemed “top secret” - one of the highest levels of classification in the US government – the US State Department has said.

State Department officials also said that the agency’s Diplomatic Security and Intelligence and Research bureaus are investigating if any of the information was classified at the time of transmission.

The department published its latest batch of emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state Friday evening.

However, intelligence officers told the Associated Press ahead of the release that seven email chains would be withheld in full for containing "top secret" information. The 37 pages concerned "special access programs" —highly restricted, classified material that could point to confidential sources or clandestine programs like drone strikes.

"The documents are being upgraded at the request of the intelligence community because they contain a category of top secret information," state Department spokesman John Kirby said, calling the withholding of documents in full "not unusual."

US State Department officials didn’t describe the substance of the emails, or even reveal whether Clinton sent any of them herself.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner, insists she never sent or received information on her personal e-mail account that was classified at the time and has argued that the emails should not be withheld.

“We firmly oppose the complete blocking of the release of these emails,” Clinton campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon said. “Since first providing her emails to the State Department more than one year ago, Hillary Clinton has urged that thet be made available to the public, We feel no differently today.

"This appears to be over-classification run amok," the campaign said in statement.

Clinton’s use of a personal email as secretary of state has become an issue in her presidential campaign, and opponents have accused her of putting US security at risk by using an unsecured computer system.

She has admitted that her decision to use a private email server at her New York home was a mistake.

The State Department released the latest batch of Clinton’s emails on Friday evening, and has yet to release around 7,000 pages of emails from her private server.

Officials in the State Department have asked for additional time to vet the messages because of the recent snowstorm that hit Washington.

They have asked to release the final batch messages