The State Department and intelligence communities inspectors' general concerns about the handling of classified information in Hillary Clinton's private email server deserves examination, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday.

"[T]his administration takes the role of inspectors general very seriously," spokesman Eric Schultz said of the concerns, which were referred to the Justice Department on Friday. "They serve an extremely important purpose, so when they raise a possible issue, it's important to look into."

The two watchdogs determined that Clinton's private account held "hundreds of potentially classified emails" and that the State Department made "at least one" public that contained classified information as part of Clinton's request that the department expedite a Freedom of Information Act request for official emails from her tenure as secretary of state, the inspectors general wrote in a joint memo.

Secretary of State John Kerry "wants to get to the bottom of this" and is "going to be discussing this with his inspector general this week," Schultz said. That is "the right step and we support him doing so."

Likewise, Clinton's request to have her emails released was "appropriate" and demonstrates "her commitment" to transparency, Schultz said.

Schultz denied that the department's long run without a permanent inspector general during Clinton's tenure led to classified information ending up in public.

"I believe, just because there wasn't a Senate-confirmed inspector general at the State Department at this time, that doesn't mean that office wasn't very active," he said.