The Director of U.S. Intelligence has rebuffed House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) request that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton be denied classified briefings after she is nominated as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

Director James Clapper told Ryan in a letter provided to The Stream that he did “not intend to withhold briefings from any officially nominated, eligible candidate.” The decision was immediately condemned by Ryan spokesperson Ashlee Strong.

“We obviously disagree with the decision and want to know what precautions will be taken and what assurances the director can give that Secretary Clinton won’t mishandle classified information,” said Strong in a statement. She said that Clinton “has proven herself untrustworthy.”

Clapper also wrote, “Nominees for president and vice president receive these briefings by virtue of their status as candidates, and do not require separate security clearances before the briefings.”

“Briefings for the candidates will be provided on an even-handed non-partisan basis. Candidates are advised of the classified nature of the material, and operational and policy matters are not addressed.”

Last week, Ryan urged Clapper to withhold classified briefings from Clinton in light of FBI Director James Comey’s declaration that the presumed Democratic nominee and members of her staff were “extremely careless” in their handling of classified material during her four-year tenure at the State Department.

In his July 7 letter, Ryan wrote, “there is no legal requirement for you to provide Secretary Clinton with classified information, and it would send the wrong signal to all those charged with safeguarding our nation’s secrets if you chose to provide her access to this information despite the FBI’s findings.”

Clintons’ email practices have dogged her campaign for nearly a year, as the FBI conducted its investigation. Comey and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch declined to press charges against Clinton, even though she made many statements that contradicted what the FBI found, and she shared dozens of emails that were classified.

The lack of charges led to aggressive questioning in two hearings this month, one with Comey and one with Lynch. In the first hearing, held last week, Comey told Congress that his agency could not investigate whether Clinton perjured herself in testimony about her email practices without congressional action. That led to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) to ask the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to investigate Clinton for possible perjury.

“The evidence collected by the FBI during its investigation of Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal email system appears to directly contradict several aspects of her sworn testimony,” wrote the Members. “In light of those contradictions, the Department should investigate and determine whether to prosecute Secretary Clinton for violating statutes that prohibit perjury and false statements to Congress, or any other relevant statutes.”

Hot Air Senior Editor Ed Morrissey described the perjury investigation as “a long shot.”

“Yes, the evidence contradicts Hillary’s testimony, but that’s not enough for a prosecution,” wrote Morrissey. “Even more so than with 18 USC 793 (f), prosecutors have to find intent and materiality in order to win.”