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Judge Orders Clinton To Provide Answers Under Oath About Email Server
She has 30 days...
by
Randy DeSoto
August 19, 2016 at 4:23pm
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Due to a Freedom of Information lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch, a federal judge ordered Hillary Clinton on Friday to answer questions relating to her private email server.
The watchdog group had sought to have the presidential candidate answer the questions in person, but U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled she could answer the questions in writing.
Judicial Watch, nonetheless, characterized the judge’s decision as a victory.
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“We are pleased that this federal court ordered Hillary Clinton to provide written answers under oath to some key questions about her email scandal,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
“We will move quickly to get these answers. The decision is a reminder that Hillary Clinton is not above the law,” he added.
The court order provides that Judicial Watch has until October 14, 2016 to submit its questions to the former secretary of state, and she has 30 days after receiving them to provide her answers.
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Judge Sullivan wrote in his opinion: “The Court is persuaded that Secretary Clinton’s testimony is necessary to enable her to explain on the record the purpose for the creation and operation of the clintonemail.com system for State Department business.”
He rejected the call for an in person deposition, explaining, “Judicial Watch’s argument that a deposition is preferable in this case because of the ability to ask follow-up questions is not persuasive.
“Given the extensive public record related to the clintonemail.com system, a record which Judicial Watch has acknowledged, Judicial Watch will be able to anticipate many follow-up questions. For those follow-up questions that Judicial Watch is unable to anticipate, it can move this Court for permission to serve additional interrogatories,” Sullivan offered.
Judicial Watch filed the FOIA lawsuit after the State Department failed to provide responsive documents regarding the employment status of Huma Abedin, Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff, while serving as secretary of state.
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Clinton’s campaign spokesman Brian Fallow responded to Friday’s ruling, stating, “Judicial Watch is a right-wing organization that has been attacking the Clintons since the 1990s.”
“This is just another lawsuit intended to try to hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and so we are glad that the judge has accepted our offer to answer these questions in writing rather than grant Judicial Watch’s request,” he added.
When granting Judicial Watch’s request for further discovery in February, Sullivan rebuked the State Department: “There has been a constant drip, drip, drip of declarations. When does it stop? This case is about the public’s right to know.”
The judge added that the Department’s handling of the email controversy has created at least a “reasonable suspicion” the public’s access to documents under FOIA has been undermined.
The State Department did not report the existence of Clinton’s server or private email address when the original FOIA lawsuit was filed in September 2013.
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