On top of the problems discussed yesterday regarding Clinton’s use of the private server, she has yet another embarrassment. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was appointed to the federal court by Bill Clinton) once again appeared fed up by the delays in releasing Hillary Clinton’s email in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. At one point in the proceedings, Sullivan said, referring to Clinton, “We wouldn’t be here today if this employee had followed government policy.” Politco also reports:
Sullivan’s said Clinton’s actions had complicated the State Department’s ability to respond to requests for records on various topics. He also ordered the State Department to contact the FBI to determine whether the private server Clinton used, which Clinton turned over to that law enforcement agency earlier this month, contains official records possibly responsive to the FOIA suit…
During Thursday’s hearing in the State Department case, Sullivan never said precisely how he believed Hillary Clinton violated government policy. But he repeatedly referred to the department’s obligation to preserve records under the Federal Records Act of 1950.
At one point, the judge said he wanted State to ask Clinton whether any third parties — such as technology companies — might have copies of official records from her tenure. However, the written order Sullivan issued after the hearing made no mention of that.
Fact checkers have previously pointed out on several occasions that Clinton’s claims that her actions did not violate government policy are false. Several government officials have also debunked Clinton’s claims, such as Dan Metcalfe, former director of the Justice Department’s Office of Information and Privacy, who called Clinton’s defense “laughable.”
These statements from Judge Sullivan came in a Freedom of Information Act suit filed by the conservative group Judicial Watch, seeking information regarding the employment of Huma Abedin. Hillary Clinton is not directly a party to the suit which involves her email while Secretary of State.
The Hill adds that Sullivan Sullivan asked for a written status report about the FBI’s progress on September 1 and that the next hearing in this case will be on October 1.
Update: Reuters reports Dozens of Clinton emails were classified from the start, U.S. rules suggest