article_snippet: (CNN)The State Department only last month started automatically preserving dozens of high-level officials' emails, according to a department spokeswoman, a revelation that comes amid the controversy surrounding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's own email use.
article_snippet: That's an important point, given legal requirements for preserving federal records.
article_snippet: After a complete inventory, a neutral, third-party arbiter can make a determination as to which emails should be public and which should remain private.
article_snippet: Last year, as the select committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack was trying to update the select committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack records, the State Department asked former secretaries of state for nonpersonal emails from former secretaries of state personal accounts that could be work-related.
article_snippet: The fact that all emails from senior officials weren't automatically saved until recently doesn't mean all emails from senior officials are gone, according to the State Department.
article_snippet: I wouldn't state it's lost to history, because there are always -- there are technical means of gaining access to past information," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday.
article_snippet: At the same time, " spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the State Department chose to change the State Department approach -- by automatically saving all emails -- "because it's an imperfect system.
article_snippet: But, obviously, there were ways to preserve (emails), and employees and individuals were expected to do that prior to this new process.
article_snippet: Separately, " spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that a letter was recently sent to former the State Department staffers asking for former State Department staffers help in the preservation effort.
article_snippet: If former State Department staffers should become aware ... of federal record in former State Department staffers possession -- such as an email sent or received on a personal email account while (former State Department staffers were) serving in former State Department staffers official capacity at the State Department -- that ... record (should) be made available to the State Department," " spokeswoman Jen Psaki said former State Department staffers were told.
article_snippet: Even before last month's chance, emails of current Secretary of State John Kerry, who uses a government address, were already being saved automatically.
highlights_snippet: However, a State Department official says emails weren't automatically archived until last month .