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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on October 9, 2016 in the second 2016 presidential debate: \"You (Hillary Clinton) get a subpoena, and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 emails.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * National * History * Homeland Security * Legal Issues * Transparency * Donald Trump ![\\"Lauren](\\" By Lauren Carroll October 10, 2016 # Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 emails after getting a subpoena The FBI concluded that Hillary Clinton should not be prosecuted over her decision to conduct State Department business exclusively over a private email server, but Donald Trump pledged to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the matter if he becomes president. At the second debate between the two presidential nominees, Trump criticized Clinton for turning over half her emails held on her server to the State Department and deleting the rest. He said Clinton should be \"ashamed\" of herself for deleting 33,000 emails. \"There has never been anything like this,\" Trump said at the Oct. 9 event in St. Louis. \"You get a subpoena, and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 emails.\" Clinton and her campaign don’t dispute that she deleted these 33,000 emails. They argue that these were personal in nature, rather than work-related, and therefore were not necessary to turn over. However, they have denied that they deleted the emails after receiving a congressional subpoena from the House Select Committee on Benghazi on March 4, 2015. But an August 2016 FBI report on its investigation shows that Trump’s claim has some merit. Let’s take a look at the timeline of relevant events, according to the FBI report. (The most pertinent information is on pages 15-19 of this document.) Feb. 1, 2013: Clinton serves her last day as secretary of state. July 23, 2014: The State Department reaches an agreement with the Benghazi committee about producing records for its investigation into the 2012 attack on a U.S. embassy in the Libyan city. Oct. 28, 2014: The State Department sends an official letter to Clinton’s staff requesting \"emails related to their government work.\" Clinton’s lawyer, David Kendall, and aide Cheryl Mills oversaw the review of Clinton’s email archives to produce work-related documents to the department. Dec. 5, 2014: Clinton’s team provides 55,000 pages of emails, or about 30,000 individual emails, to the State Department. Mills tells an employee at Platte River Networks, which managed the server, that Clinton does not need to retain any emails older than 60 days. March 2, 2015: The New York Times breaks the story that Clinton used a personal email account while secretary of state. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 12, 2024 in an Instagram post Kamala Harris posted about banning Barron Trump’s friend from X because he wore a “Biden Loves Minors” shirt. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • August 14, 2024 March 4, 2015: The Benghazi committee issues a subpoena requiring Clinton to turn over all emails from her private server related to the incident in Libya. Between March 25-31, 2015: The Platte River Networks employee has what he calls an \"oh s---\" moment, realizing he did not delete Clinton’s email archive, per Mills’ December 2014 request. The employee deletes the email archive using a software called BleachBit. March 27, 2015: Clinton’s lawyers send a letter to the Benghazi committee saying that the State Department already has the relevant emails, as they were included in the Dec. 5, 2014, turnover. Trump’s timeline is correct. The congressional subpoena came on March 4, 2015, and an employee deleted the emails sometime after March 25, 2015, three weeks later. However, the implication — that Clinton deleted emails relevant to the subpoena in order to avoid scrutiny — is unprovable if not flat wrong. The FBI’s investigation did find several thousand emails among those deleted that were work-related and should have been turned over to the State Department. However, FBI Director James Comey said in a July 2016 statement that the FBI investigation \"found no evidence that any of the additional work-related emails were intentionally deleted in an effort to conceal them.\" Comey added in a later congressional hearing that the FBI learned no one on Clinton’s staff specifically asked the employee to delete the emails following the New York Times story and subpoena. Rather, the employee made that decision on his own. Clinton told the FBI that she did was not involved in deciding whether individual emails should be sent to State Department, nor \"did she instruct anyone to delete her emails to avoid complying with FOIA, State or FBI requests for information.\" Our ruling Trump said, \"You (Hillary Clinton) get a subpoena, and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 emails.\" Clinton’s staff received a subpoena for Benghazi-related emails March 4. An employee managing her server deleted 33,000 of Clinton’s emails three weeks later. The FBI found no evidence that the emails were deleted deliberately to avoid the subpoena or other requests. Clinton’s team requested for the emails to be deleted months before the subpoena came. They also argued that all the emails that would be relevant to the subpoena had already been turned over to the State Department. We rate Trump’s claim Half True. Share the Facts Politifact ![\\"Politifact\\"](\\" logo-big.jpg\\"/) 3 7 ![\\"Politifact](\\" facts/rating_images/politifact/tom-halftrue.jpg\\") Politifact Rating: Half True \"You (Hillary Clinton) get a subpoena, and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 emails.\" Donald Trump Republican presidential nominee ![](\\" In the second 2016 presidential debate Sunday, October 9, 2016 10/09/2016 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources FBI, report on investigation into Clinton emails, released Sept. 2, 2016 FBI, Statement by FBI Director James B. Comey on the Investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Use of a Personal E-Mail System, July 5, 2016 House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, transcript of Comey hearing, July 7, 2016 House Select Committee on Benghazi, \"Select Committee on Benghazi Releases Clinton Subpoena,\" July 8, 2015 Washington Post, \"Hillary Clinton’s e-mails: a timeline of actions and regulations,\" March 10, 2015 FactCheck.org, \"The FBI Files on Clinton’s Emails,\" Sept. 7, 2016 CNN, \"Reality Check: Trump on Clinton emails,\" Oct. 4, 2016 PolitiFact, \"Hillary Clinton and the House Republicans battle over Benghazi subpoena,\" July 9, 2016\ Email interview, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung, Oct. 9, 2016 Email interview, Clinton spokesman Josh Schwerin, Oct. 9, 2016 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Lauren Carroll ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 28, 2017 in the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting: \"For the first time in the modern political era, we have confirmed a new justice in the first 100 days.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • April 28, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Sean Spicer stated on April 25, 2017 in the daily White House press briefing: Trump has \"worked with Congress to pass more legislation in his first 100 days than any president since Truman.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • April 27, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 26, 2017 in a tweet: The Ninth Circuit has an overturned record \"close to 80%.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • April 26, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Casey Cagle stated on June 22, 2017 in a meeting with small business owners: Says of Georgia, \"for four years in a row, we are the No. 1 state to do business in.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • July 19, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 6, 2017 in a press conference in Poland: Says Barack Obama found out about Russia \"in August. Now, the election was in November. That\'s a lot of time. He did nothing about it.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • July 10, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Marc Short stated on July 2, 2017 in an episode of \"Fox News Sunday\": 7 million people the Congressional Budget Office says won\'t have health insurance coverage under the Senate health care bill \"don\'t exist.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • July 5, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jeff Sessions stated on June 13, 2017 in a congressional hearing: \"It\'s a longstanding policy of the Department of Justice not to comment on conversations that the attorney general has had with the president of the United States.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • June 14, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kimberley Strassel stated on May 28, 2017 in \"Meet the Press\" on NBC: In 2008, \"candidate Obama, he\'s not even president-elect, sends William Miller over to Iran to establish a back channel and let the Iranians know that should he win the election, they will have friendlier terms.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Lauren Carroll • June 2, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Uspoln Website stated on May 23, 2017 in an online article: \"Rubio: ‘Rape victims should be in custody if there is suspicion that they’re planning abortion.’ \" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • June 1, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Newt Gingrich stated on May 21, 2017 in an episode of \"Fox and Friends\": Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich \"apparently was assassinated at 4 in the morning, having given WikiLeaks something like 53,000 emails and 17,000 attachments. ... It turns out, it wasn’t the Russians.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • May 23, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rush Limbaugh stated on May 17, 2017 in an episode of the \"Rush Limbaugh Show\": \"What Trump is alleged to have done is actually no different than what Barack Obama did in April last year when he made it known that he didn’t want Hillary prosecuted.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • May 18, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Richard Blumenthal stated on May 9, 2017 in a press conference: \"What does Trumpcare do? Yank tax credits away from veterans unlike any other American.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • May 15, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on May 4, 2017 in blog headlines: Under the House Republican health plan, sexual assault is a pre-existing condition. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • May 5, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ivanka Trump stated on May 2, 2017 in her book \"Women Who Work\": \"40 percent of American households have female primary breadwinners.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • May 3, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 30, 2017 in an interview on CBS: \"General Flynn got his clearance from the Obama administration.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Lauren Carroll • May 2, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 28, 2017 in the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting: \"For the first time in the modern political era, we have confirmed a new justice in the first 100 days.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • April 28, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Sean Spicer stated on April 25, 2017 in the daily White House press briefing: Trump has \"worked with Congress to pass more legislation in his first 100 days than any president since Truman.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • April 27, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 26, 2017 in a tweet: The Ninth Circuit has an overturned record \"close to 80%.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • April 26, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Casey Cagle stated on June 22, 2017 in a meeting with small business owners: Says of Georgia, \"for four years in a row, we are the No. 1 state to do business in.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • July 19, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 6, 2017 in a press conference in Poland: Says Barack Obama found out about Russia \"in August. Now, the election was in November. That\'s a lot of time. He did nothing about it.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • July 10, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Marc Short stated on July 2, 2017 in an episode of \"Fox News Sunday\": 7 million people the Congressional Budget Office says won\'t have health insurance coverage under the Senate health care bill \"don\'t exist.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Lauren Carroll • July 5, 2017 ### Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 emails after getting a subpoena * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 10, 2024 in at a Sept. 10 presidential debate: \"In Springfield (Ohio), they\'re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they\'re eating the cats. They\'re eating, they\'re eating the pets of the people that live there.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 11, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 6, 2024 in in social media posts: Haitian immigrants are eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, Ohio. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 9, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 2, 2024 in social media posts: The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is on the way to Aurora, Colorado, to confront a Venezuelan gang. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Loreben Tuquero • September 9, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on July 20, 2024 in remarks at a fundraiser in Provincetown, Mass.: Donald Trump “took away protections against discrimination for LGBTQ patients under the Affordable Care Act.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Grace Abels • September 9, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" One Nation stated on August 23, 2024 in an ad: “Sen. 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You Hillary Clinton get a subpoena and after getting the subpoena you delete 33000 emails