While Hillary Clinton was using a private email address hosted on her own home-based computer server to conduct State Department business , her agency forced out an ambassador who was doing the same thing overseas . Retired Air Force General Scott Gration was US ambassador to Kenya for 13 months between 2011 and 2012 , departing after a scathing performance report blasted his leadership style and determined that he created security risks by running his own one-person IT department . The report determined that Gration 'assumed charge of the mission ’ s information management operations , ' in Nairobi , and 'ordered a commercial Internet connection installed in his embassy office bathroom so he could work there on a laptop not connected to the Department email system . ' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS AND GRATION 'S PERFORMANCE REPORT . OUSTED : Scott Gration ( left ) was special envoy to Sudan before he spent 13 months as ambassador to Kenya ; he was forced out after an inspector general report found problems with his performance – including the use of unauthorized commercial email services to conduct government business outside of secure channels . EMAIL-GATE : Hillary Clinton never used an official government email address as secretary of state , relying on a private server at the same time her agency was forcing Gration out for , among other things , doing the same . He also tried to legitimize his actions by writing new policy and distributing it to the embassy staff , saying the use of 'commercial email ' for government business was acceptable . Gration , the State Department 's Office of Inspector General wrote , 'continued to use commercial email for official government business ' even when investigators were digging into his conduct . The report noted that he seldom logged on to his official State Department email account ; The New York Times later reported that he 'preferred to use Gmail for official business . ' Clinton , the odds-on favorite to be the Democratic Party 's presidential nominee in 2016 , came under fire this week for using a private email account – not a State Department 'state.gov ' address – to conduct government business . Her aides , and Obama administration colleagues – including White House personnel – reached her at 'hdr22 @ clintonemail.com ' for the four years she was America 's top diplomat . The revelation has led to accusations that the former secretary failed to turn over all her communications for archiving , as the Federal Records Act requires . Additional questions have swirled around potential national security risks posed by having sensitive material flowing through unsecure channels . Scott Gration lasted just 13 months as an ambassador before his management style and data security breaches ended his State Dept . career . Clinton helmed the State Department through the entirety of Gration 's tenure as ambassador . The State Department did not respond to a request for comment about parallels between her case and Gration 's . But the 2012 IG report spelled out a policy that it appears Clinton herself failed to follow . 'It is the department 's general policy that normal day-to-day operations be conducted on an authorized information system , which has the proper level of security controls , ' the report read . 'The use of unauthorized information systems increases the risk for data loss , phishing , and spoofing of email accounts , as well as inadequate protections for personally identifiable information . ' 'The use of unauthorized information systems can also result in the loss of official public records as these systems do not have approved record preservation or backup functions , ' the inspector general added . 'Conducting official business on non-department automated information systems must be limited to only maintaining communications during emergencies . ' SECURE ? America 's embassy in Nairobi , Kenya where Gration had a commercial internet line installed in his office bathroom so he could communicate out of reach of Washington . Clinton 's emails were never publicly leaked , but some messages sent to her by a close adviser were . The infamous Romanian hacker who used the nom-de-hack 'Guccifer ' was sentenced to four years in prison for , among other things , breaching the email account of Sidney Blumenthal , a former Bill Clinton aide who later joined Mrs. Clinton 's 2008 presidential campaign . Some of the messages consisted of intelligence reports , sent in late 2012 to Clinton 's private address , and covered matters in Libya – including the aftermath of the September 11 , 2012 terror attack in Benghazi . Among the recommendations at the close of the report that ended Gration 's career , the IG urged : 'Embassy Nairobi should cease using commercial email to process Department information and use authorized Department automated information systems for conducting official business . ' Scott Gration State Dept . IG Report uploaded by DailyMail.com .
Retired Air Force General Scott Gration was US ambassador to Kenya . Forced to resign in 2012 after a scathing performance report . Used unauthorized private email address to conduct 'sensitive ' government business through a private Internet connection in his office bathroom . Hillary Clinton is now under fire for exclusively using a private email address hosted on her own server while in the Obama administration . Comment: