The State Department has been ordered by a U.S. District Court Judge to request that Hillary Clinton and her top aides confirm under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all government records in their possession, return any other government records immediately, and describe their use of Hillary Clinton's email server to conduct government business.
According to a media dispatch issued by Judicial Watch, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the ruling on Friday, after holding a status hearing in Judicial Watch Freedom of Information lawsuit that sought records about Huma Abedin, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Here is the Judges Order:
"...As agreed by the parties at the July 31, 2015 status hearing, the Government shall produce a copy of the letters sent by the State Department to Mrs. Hillary Clinton, Ms. Huma Abedin and Ms. Cheryl Mills regarding the collection of government records in their possession. These communications shall be posted on the docket forthwith. The Government has also agreed to share with Plaintiff’s counsel the responses sent by Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. These communications shall also be posted on the docket forthwith. In addition, as related to Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests in this case, the Government is HEREBY ORDERED to: (1) identify any and all servers, accounts, hard drives, or other devices currently in the possession or control of the State Department or otherwise that may contain responsive information; (2) request that the above named individuals confirm, under penalty of perjury, that they have produced all responsive information that was or is in their possession as a result of their employment at the State Department. If all such information has not yet been produced, the Government shall request the above named individuals produce the information forthwith; and (3) request that the above named individuals describe, under penalty of perjury, the extent to which Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills used Mrs. Clinton’s email server to conduct official government business. The Government shall inform the Court of the status of its compliance with this Order no later than August 7, 2015, including any response received from Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on July 31, 2015.Judicial Watch is calling this a "blockbuster ruling" and it says that it is the most significant legal development to date in the ongoing Clinton email scandal:
"...Hillary Clinton will now have to answer, under penalty of perjury, to a federal court about the separate email server she and her aides used to avoid accountability to the American people,” stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “This court action shows that the rule of law and public’s right to know will no longer take a back seat to politics. Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration that is covering for her are not above the law.”According to Judicial Watch, their legal eagles had agreed to dismiss its lawsuit back in March, based on assurances it got from the State Department that it had searched the Office Of the Executive Secretary, "...which would have included the offices of the Secretary of State and top staff. Relying upon the State Department’s misrepresentation that the agency conducted a reasonable search," Judicial watch dropped its suit.
Apparently the recently disclosed discovery that Hillary Clinton and members of her State Department staff used secret email accounts to conduct government business has, according to Judge Sullivan, "changed circumstances," and warrants continuing with the lawsuit.
"...The State Department had an obligation under the Federal Records Act to properly preserve, maintain, and make available for retrieval records of its official functions. In fact, it is the obligation of the head of every federal agency to do so. Secretary Clinton plainly violated her own legal obligations. Doing so was misconduct..." said Judicial Watch.
JW provides some context with the following:
- *According to POLITICO Huma Abedin had been "double-dipping," i.e., working for the State Department AND working as a consultant for outside clients.
- *Outside Clients included TENEO, a strategic consulting firm co-founded by former Bill Clinton counselor Doug Band.
- *Fox News reported that Abedin (Weiner) earned $355,000 as a consultant to TENEO, on top of her $135,000 (Special Government Employee Designated) Compensation.
- *TENEO maintains offices in DUBAI, LONDON, DUBLIN, HONG KONG, BRUSSELS, WASHINGTON, AND BEIJING. It is reportedly also being investigated by, among others, the New York Times, which has questioned the TENEO relationship with the Clinton Foundation.
None of this was lost on the House Select Investigative Committee on Benghazi:
"...Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy ... [issued a] ... statement in response to reports by the Inspectors General of the State Department and the United States Intelligence Community, which found potentially hundreds of classified emails among those self-selected and turned over by Secretary Hillary Clinton to the State Department from her private custody ..."According to the committee's news release:
"...Committee Members on both sides have been aware of concerns about classified emails within the self-selected records turned over by Secretary Clinton. The Committee appreciates that Inspectors General appointed by President Obama have confirmed this is a serious and nonpartisan national security matter by any objective measure. This certainly merits further review by the Executive Branch to determine the legal and national security implications posed by the former Secretary’s unusual email arrangement in order to mitigate any potential counterintelligence risks and minimize the damage caused by this scheme. These issues should be evaluated under the same strict standards that would apply to anyone found to be in possession of classified information outside of an approved system...The number of questions surrounding Secretary Clinton’s unusual email arrangement continues to grow. The best—the only way—to resolve these important factual questions is for her to turn over her server to the proper authorities for independent forensic evaluation. Regardless of whether the server is voluntarily relinquished or acquired by other lawful means, there is clearly sufficient cause to examine the contents of said server for the presence of other classified information. Moreover, whether it was classified initially or later classified, it is appropriate for the Executive Branch and intelligence community to determine where these now classified documents are housed and by whom they are possessed..."In the meantime, as we learned back in early July, Hillary Clinton has been subpoenae'd by the Select Committee and is now scheduled to testify October 22, and is to be questioned about "...Libya, Benghazi and her email arrangement consistent with the scope and jurisdiction of the Committee laid out in the House Resolution..."
Here's Congressman Gowdy with his and the committee's take on the Clinton Email revelations:
