Republicans quickly pounced on Hillary Clinton Friday after it was revealed that some emails on her private server would not be released because they contain information deemed "top secret."
Donald Trump called the email declaration "a disaster" for Clinton. Marco Rubio called it "unacceptable" and said, "this is a disqualifier."
Jeb Bush said on Twitter: "We need a president who can keep our secrets secret. Obviously that's not Hillary Clinton."
The State Department on Friday denied the release of 22 emails because of "top secret" information. The 22 documents are in seven email chains, the department said.
The emails were not marked classified at the time they were sent, but were "were upgraded at the request of the intelligence community," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
RELATED: State Department declares Hillary Clinton emails top secret
The new top secret designation forced Clinton's campaign to once again address the use of private email just days before the important Iowa caucuses.
Clinton's campaign said in a statement that Clinton wants the emails released. Her campaign spokesman objected to the newly classified material as "over-classification run amok."
Chris Christie used the new email scrutiny to attack Clinton's credibility in Iowa, days ahead of the caucus.
"Didn't she look us in the eyes and tell us there was not a bit of classified information on her person server?" Chris Christie said at a campaign event Friday. "She has now definitively — without any question — lied to us."
"There is a legal process in place which should proceed and not be politicized," Sanders said in a statement Friday. "The voters of Iowa and this nation deserve a serious discussion of the issues facing them."
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.