Newly released emails show that a 2009 request to issue a secure government smartphone to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was denied by the National Security Agency.

A month later, she began using private email accounts accessed through her BlackBerry to exchange messages with top aides.

The messages made public Wednesday were obtained by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal-advocacy group that has filed numerous lawsuits seeking the release of federal documents related to Clinton’s tenure as the nation’s top diplomat.

The Democratic presidential front-runner has come under intense scrutiny for her decision to use a private email server located in the basement of her Westchester home to route messages, some containing sensitive information.

Security experts have raised concern that the arrangement could have left the messages vulnerable to attack by hackers working for foreign intelligence agencies.

Clinton’s desire for a secure “BlackBerry-like” device is recounted in a series of 2009 exchanges between the State Department and the NSA.

The State Department’s designated NSA liaison expressed concerns about security vulnerabilities inherent with using BlackBerry devices for secure communications or in secure areas. However, the specific reasons Clinton’s requests were rebuffed are being kept secret by State.