. I have highlighted the more critical comments of this post. Don't have the time to read the full memo? The read highlighted comments will give you an informed summary of what is going on. Just know that Hillary is fighting every court order and every advance in the FBI investigation. She IS hiding something.
<<< Tom Fitton, head of Judicial Watch, writes this updated.
Judicial
Watch has had remarkable success in using the court process to obtain
answers on the burgeoning email scandal, including from Hillary Clinton
herself.
Since my report to you last week, events have moved quickly.
First,
a JW Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit forced Mrs. Clinton to
do what no other congressional committee, FBI, or Justice Department
investigation has been able to do - submit information, under penalty of
perjury, about her email system. The week began with the U.S. State
Department submitting to a federal court an August 8 sworn declaration
from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding federal
records on her controversial email system. The declaration states:
I, Hillary Rodham Clinton, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct:
While
I do not know what information may be "responsive" for purposes of this
law suit, I have directed that all my e-mails on clintonemail.com in my
custody that were or potentially were federal records to be provided to
the Department of State, and on information and belief, this has been
done.
As a result of my directive, approximately 55,000 pages of these emails were produced to the Department on December 5, 2014.
Cheryl
Mills did not have an account on clintonemail.com. Huma Abedin did have
such an account which was used at times for government business.
The document is signed by "Hillary Rodham Clinton." The State Department was ordered
by US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan on July 31 to request that
Clinton and her top aides confirm, under penalty of perjury, that they
have produced all government records in their possession and to return
any other government records immediately. The Court wanted State to ask
Clinton, Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills to describe their use of Hillary
Clinton's email server to conduct government business. The State
Department produced last week the August 5 letter it sent to Mrs. Clinton, which included a copy of Judge Sullivan's July 31 order, which reads: text of Judge Sullivan's July 31 minute 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.
You
don't need to be a legal expert to see that Mrs. Clinton's declaration
fails to comply with both Judge Sullivan's court order and the State
Department's request. Clinton does not certify she turned over all
federal records and provides no information on the extent that Abedin
and Mills used her server.
Just to review, it was over four months ago, on March 2, 2015, that The New York Times reported
then-Secretary Clinton used at least one non-"state.gov" email account
to conduct official government business during her entire tenure as the
secretary of state. It also was reported that Secretary Clinton stored
these records on a non-U.S. government issued server at her home in
Chappaqua, New York.
It
is clear now that Mrs. Clinton doesn't want to tell the whole truth
about her email system. The court will very likely have more questions
for her. Clinton's declaration raises more questions than it answers and
shows contempt for the court.
But this isn't the only news.
Judge Sullivan issued an order
late last Friday [yesterday, August 14,2015 ~ editor] to the State Department explicitly instructing that
all federal documents relating to former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton and her aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills be preserved:
In view of [20] the Government's status report,
the Court hereby directs the Government to request that Mrs. Hillary
Clinton, Ms. Huma Abedin, and Ms. Cheryl Mills i) not delete any federal
documents, electronic or otherwise, in their possession or control, and
ii) provide appropriate assurances to the Government that the
above-named individuals will not delete any such documents. The
Government shall inform the Court of the status of its compliance with
this Order no later than August 12, 2015, including a copy of any
assurances provided by Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills that they
will not delete any federal documents in their possession or control.
Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on August 7, 2015.
The order was issued a little over an hour after Judicial Watch lawyers filed an urgent response informing Judge Sullivan of a plan to destroy federal records as reported by State to the court. Incredible!
Let's not forget these developments come in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit
that seeks records about the controversial employment status of Huma
Abedin, the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. The lawsuit was reopened because of revelations about Hillary
Clinton's email records.
As if this wasn't enough, there were even more major court and legal developments.
On Wednesday, the State Department filed correspondence
in response to Judge Sullivan's July 31 order requiring the State
Department to report on his directive to take steps to ensure that Mrs.
Clinton, Ms. Abedin, and Clinton aide Cheryl Mills did not destroy
government records. The filing included a letter from Hillary Clinton's
lawyer David Kendall that read in part:
[W]e
have voluntarily provided to the Department of Justice on August 6,
2015, the .pst file containing electronic copies of the 55,000 pages of
emails on a thumb drive (along with two copies), which had been securely
stored in my possession, after receiving from the Department of Justice
an assurance that it would maintain this file in an appropriately
secure manner and the Department's opinion that such maintenance would
satisfy any preservation obligations I am under. Similarly, Platte
River Networks is today providing to the Department of Justice the
server and related equipment on which emails to and from Secretary
Clinton's clintonemail.com were stored from 2009 to 2013 and which PRN
took possession of in 2013. This is following the Department of
Justice's assurances to us and counsel for PRN that it would maintain
the server equipment in an appropriately secure manner. The Department
also gave counsel its opinion that such maintenance would satisfy any
preservation obligations we have.
This
Clinton lawyer's letter in response to the court's orders shows Mrs.
Clinton continues to withhold material information from the court. Reports seem to confirm Mrs. Clinton is still withholding emails from the FBI and Justice Department.
In response, the Court acted quickly with yet another Court order yesterday! The order states:
On
August 7, 2015, the State Department indicated that it would, by August
14, 2015, provide additional information about all servers, accounts,
hard drives, or other devices in the Department's possession or control
that may contain information responsive to Plaintiff's Freedom of
Information Act request in this case. The State Department shall file a
status report with such relevant information no later than 12:00 p.m. on
August 14, 2015. Further, in light of the State Department's August 12,
2015 status report, the August 14, 2015 report shall indicate the
extent to which the State Department is working with other government
agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
Department of Justice, to search Mrs. Clinton's private email server for
information relevant to this lawsuit. Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan
on August 13, 2015.
The
State Department filing is woefully deficient, misleading, and
contemptuous of the court's orders for complete disclosure about Mrs.
Clinton's email system and the systems of Ms. Abedin and Ms. Mills. The
court, Judicial Watch and the American people are no closer to learning
where all of the emails of Hillary and her top aides can be found. The
State Department refused to answer questions about what is even in its
possession. Now we know that the Obama administration and Hillary
Clinton have joined hands in this email scandal. The State Department
relies on the half-baked, vague declaration by Hillary Clinton and a
misleading letter by her lawyer to try to avoid its obligations to
produce records under the Freedom of Information Act. It is now clear
that Mrs. Clinton is withholding servers and emails from the FBI and
Justice Department, and Judge Sullivan is being misled to conclude
otherwise. We will seek appropriate relief from the court.
I
think it is fair to conclude that the courts are expecting quick action
on Mrs. Clinton's email system and that the Obama administration will
learn that the courts will not allow it to bury her emails.
I
have saved the best for last. Hillary Clinton, under incredible
pressure, erupted, lost control, and attacked Judicial Watch for her
email scandal! Her attack on the grassroots organization occurred
during an interview on Univision. I responded on behalf of Judicial Watch with the following statement:
Hillary
Clinton's attacks on Judicial Watch for its success in suing for her
State Department records under the Freedom of Information Act will not
deter us from our nonpartisan work. Hillary Clinton has a nasty record
of attacking and threatening those who try to hold her accountable to
the law. It was Hillary Clinton who chose to conduct official
government business on a separate email system. It was this decision by
Hillary Clinton that placed classified information and the nation's security at risk.
In addition, it prevented government records from being properly
searched as required by law in response to Judicial Watch's Freedom of
Information Act requests and lawsuits. A federal judge has led the way
in requesting answers from her under penalty of perjury. Mrs. Clinton
has a problem with the truth and obeying the law - and that is why a
federal judge has requested information from Mrs. Clinton, the State
Department, and her closest advisors. Blaming Judicial Watch for the
email mess she made is pathetic.
Sure
enough, this attack was a deflection from the truth that she was forced
to turn over her "server" and some emails to the FBI and Justice
Department almost at the same time she was blaming Judicial Watch for
her problems!
I
cannot say enough for how grateful I am for all of the hard work of my
colleagues here at Judicial Watch. Hillary Clinton criticizes us
because we are truth-tellers, persistent, and effective. Congress, the
rest of the media, and federal "law enforcement" follow our lead.
Stay tuned...
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