(U/FOUO) In November or December 2014, Mills told [redacted] she did not want the exported data on the laptops anymore and requested he securely delete the .pst files previously transferred to MILLS' and SAMUELSON's workstations, but did not specifically request [redacted] use deletion software. Based on the request of MILLS, [redacted] recommended BleachBit, a tool he had used previously with clients who had financial information on computer equipment being decommissioned. [redacted] described BleachBit as a utility that securely deletes files by overwriting data multiple times. He could not recall what version he used, but would have downloaded the latest version at the time of MILLS' request. Sometime prior to this discussion, MILLS mentioned once CLINTON's emails were printed for State, she could put the .pst file on a flash drive and have a master copy. [redacted] had the impression MILLS was referring to all of CLINTON's emails, not just those provided to State.
(U/FOUO) [redacted] used the same deletion process for the workstations of both MILLS and SAMUELSON. He initiated a remote session, typically while on the phone with MILLS or SAMUELSON, to each workstation using ScreenConnect and downloaded BleachBit from the Internet, then installed the software. He used BleachBit to remove the .pst files by running the shredding function as a standard user, not an administrator. The process took a few minutes to complete during which [redacted] did not encounter an error message. [redacted] believed he shredded a total of eight files - the two zip and two .pst files on each laptop from the July and September exports. He did not recall:
• Altering any settings prior to shredding the .pst files • Wiping free space • Selecting artifact clean up • Verifying the deletion of the files • Selecting "Shred Settings and Quit" once the process was complete • Targeting any temporary files
