---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The lawyers doing the sorting for…"
description: "\"The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in 2014 did not individually read the content of all of her e-mails, as we did for those available ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/james-comey-17512_available_the-lawyers-doing-the-sorting-for-secret_509881.jpg"
---

#  The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in…

![“The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in 2014 did not individually read the content of all of her e-mails, as we did for those available to us; instead, they relied on header information and used search terms to try to find all work-related e-mails among the reportedly more than…” quote by James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/james-comey-17512_available_the-lawyers-doing-the-sorting-for-secret_509881.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/james-comey-17512_available_the-lawyers-doing-the-sorting-for-secret_509881.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/james-comey-17512_available_the-lawyers-doing-the-sorting-for-secret_509881.jpg)

> “The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in 2014 did not individually read the content of all of her e-mails, as we did for those available to us; instead, they relied on header information and used search terms to try to find all work-related e-mails among the reportedly more than 60,000 total e-mails remaining on Secretary Clinton’s personal system in 2014.”

[James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Clinton’s email review relied on metadata and keyword searches rather than reading each message, highlighting a pragmatic but limited investigative method.

**In simple terms:** They used headers and search terms, not full content.

Key Takeaway

Metadata can guide investigations but may miss context.

Themes

investigation privacy technology

Mood

critical analytical

Type

legal procedural

When to use this quote

- legal review
- government records
- digital forensics

Key Concepts

metadata analysis search algorithms

Questions to Reflect On

- How might important details be missed using only headers?
- What safeguards ensure thorough review?

A Different Perspective

Relying on metadata can overlook nuanced information.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Work related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-related/)

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## More by James Comey

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[Explore all 37 James Comey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/)

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Browse all 2,134 Available quotes

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